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.VLABAMA 

GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 

' 

v 

EUGENE  ALLEN  SMITH,  PH.  D.,  DIRECTOR. 


IRON  MAKING 


ALABAMA, 

BY 

WILLIAM   BATTLE  PHILLIPS,  PH,  D,, 

Consulting  Chemist  Teiiiu-sx-f  (,'oal.  Iron  A:  Railroad  Co.. 
Birmingham,  Ala. 


MONTGOMERY,  ALA.,  1896: 
JAS.  P.  ARMSTRONG,  PRINTER. 


EXCHANGE 

ERRATA. 

P.  1,  line  4,  from  bottom — Peckin  should  be  Pechin. 
P.  1,  line  9,  from  bottom— Erskin  should  beErskine. 
P.  15,  line  13,  from  bottom — Ore  should  be  Ores. 
P.  41,  lines  5  et  seq.  from  top — Silica  x  alumina  should  be  silica  plus 
alumina. 

P.  57,  line  8  from  bottom— 61  should  be  61.2. 

P.  57,  line  9  from  bottom— 68.8  should  be  58.8. 

P.  64,  line  3  from  top — Uchling  should  be  Uehltng. 

P.  120,  line  19  from  bottom — Annisto  should  be  Anniston. 


To  His  Excellency, 

WILLIAM  C.  GATES, 

Governor  of  Alabama  : 

DEAR  SIR  : — I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  a 
Report  upon  Iron  Making  in  Alabama,  by  Dr.  Wm.  B. 
Phillips. 

A  glance  at  the  Table  of  Contents  will  show  how  com- 
pletely the  ground,  from  the  raw  materials  to  the  finished 
product,  has  been  covered  by  the  author,  and  the  reader 
of  the  book  will  soon  perceive  that  the  various  topics 
have  been  more  fully  and  carefully  treated  than  ever 
before. 

This  report  will  be  an  invaluable,  and  at  the  same 
time  authoritative ,  handbook  of  all  the  conditions  which 
surround  the  iron-making  business  in  Alabama,  and  as 
such,  is  certain  of  a  hearty  welcome,  not  only  from  our 
own  citizens,  but  from  all  others  interested. 
Very  respectfully, 

EUGENE  A.  SMITH, 

State  Geologist. 

University  of  Alabama,  July  1st,  1896. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Pages. 

l.i-tter  of  Trnnsmirtni  1-2 

Introduction  ••          3-11 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  Ores  —  General  Discussion  —  Kinds  used  —  Bessemer  ore 
not  found  in  quantity  —  Phosphorus  in  ores  —  Value  of  in 
Statf  —  Hut  little  bought  on  analysis  —  Evils  of  purchasing 
by  ton  —  Improvement  of  ores  —  Pig  iron  made  almost  exclu- 
sively from  local  ores  —  Production  and  value  —  Rank  of  the 
State  as  an  ore  producer  —  Transportation  of  pig  iron  to 
market  the  main  question  ..........  ..........  13-28 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  hematite  ores  —  Classification  —  Occurrence  —  The  soft 
red  ores  —  Analysis  —  Physical  nature  —  Former  practice 
almost  restricted  to  use  of  soft  red  —  Exhaustion  —  Concen- 
tration —  The  limey,  or  hard  red  ores  —  Description  —  Anal- 
ysis —  Crushed  —  Calcination  —  The  limonite,  or  brown  ores  — 
irrence  —  Mining  —  Washing  —  Analysis  —  Calcining  — 
Valuation  —  Screening  —  Mill  Cinder  —  Analysis  —  Blue  Billy— 

ore  ...............................       29-56 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  fluxes  —  Limestone  —  Dolomite  —  Analysis  —  Valuation  — 
Sold  on  analysis  —  Dolomite  as  flux  compared  with  limestone  57-67 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  fuels  —  Coke  —  Classification  —  Analysis  —  Cell  space  —  Spe- 
cific gravity  —  Crushing  strain  —  Statistics  of  production  — 
Character  of  coal  used  —  Composition  of  ash  ...............  68-77 

CHAPTER  v. 

Furnace  burdens  —  Coke  —  burdens  of  hard  and  soft  red  —  Con- 
sumption of  raw  materials  —  Cost  of  raw  materials  —  Deduc- 
tions —  Burdens  of  hard  and  soft  red,  and  brown  ore  —  De- 
ductions —  Charcoal  furnaces  —  Burdens  —  Cost  of  raw  mate- 
rial .....  ...........................  :  78-105 

<  H  AFTER  VI. 

List  of  Furnaces,  Rolling  Mills,  &c.  in  Alabama  —  Production 
of  coke  and  charcoal  iron  —  Hot  blast  stoves  —  Progress  of 
furnace  building  ......................................  106-125 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Pig  iron  market  —  Grading  of  coke  pig  iron  —  Freight  tariff  — 
Prices  —  Freight  tariff  for  coal  and  coke  —  Production  of 
coal,  coke  and  pig  iron  ........  .........................  126-159 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL. 


/)/•.  Einj>  n<>  A  . 

Director  Ala.  Geol.  Survey  , 

rniversity,  Ala. 

SIR  —  I  beg  to  transmit  herewith  a  report  on  Iron  Mak- 
ing in  Alabama,  prepared  for  the  Geological  Survey. 

No  systematic  attempt  has  yet  been  made  to  bring  this 
industry  to  the  attention  of  the  general  public.  Numer- 
ous articles  have  appeared  in  the  technical  papers  in 
this  and  other  countries  during  the  last  ten  years,  deal- 
ing with  special  phases  of  the  subject,  and  many  of  them 
possess  great  merit.  In  particular  may  be  mentioned 
the  following  : 

The  Iron  Ores  and  Coals  of  Alabama,  Georgia  and 
Tennessee.  Jno.  B.  Porter,  Trans.  Amer.  Inst.  Min, 
Engrs.,  vol.  xv,  1886-87,  pp.  170-2  :  8.  % 

Comparison  of  Some  Southern  Cokes  and  Iron  Ores. 
A.  S.  McCreath  and  E.  V.  D'Invilliers.  Trans.  Amer. 
Inst.  Min.  Engrs.,  Vol.  xv,  1886-87,  pp.  734-756. 

General  Description  of  the  Ores  used  in  the  Chatta- 
nooga District.  H.  S.  Fleming.  Trans.  Amer.  Inst. 
Min.  Engrs.,  Vol.  xv,  1886-1887,  pp.  757-761. 

The  Pratt  Mines  of  the  Tennessee  Coal,  Iron  and  R'y 
Co.  Erskin  Ramsay.  Trans.  Amer.  Inst.  Min.  Engrs., 
Vol.  xix,  1890-91,  pp.  296-313. 

Notes  on  the  Magnetization  and  Concentration  of  Iron 
Ore.  Wm.  B.  Phillips,  Trans.  Amer.  Inst.  Min.  Engrs., 
Vol.  xxv,  1895-1896. 

A  series  of  articles  by  E.  C.  Peckin,  in  the  Iron  Tracte 
Review  in  1888,  and  by  the  same  author  in  the  Eng.  & 
Mining  Journal,  Vol.  Iviii,  1894.  Also  the  Proc.  Ala. 
Indust.  &  Sci.  Soc.  1891-1896. 


2  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

But  the  very  fact  of  their  appearing  in  technical  pub- 
lications has  caused  the  general  reader  to  neglect  them, 
not  on  account  of  indifference,  but  because  they  were 
not  readily  accessible.  The  files  of  the  great  industrial 
journ-als,  and  the  Proceedings  of  the  Amer.  lust,  of  Min- 
ing Engineers  are  not  available  to  many  who  wish  to 
know  what  has  been  already  done  in  Alabama,  and  what 
the  future  may  confidently  be  expected  to  unfold. 

After  careful  consideration,  it  was  decided  to  prepare 
a  little  book  of  150-200  pages  which  should  present  the 
matter  as  it  is  to-day  and  chiefly  from  the  standpoint  of 
raw  materials.  Very  little  has  been  said  as  to  furnace 
practice,  because  it  was  not  in  mind  to  prepare  a  Text- 
book of  Iron  Making.  The  book  is  intended  for  general 
distribution  by  the  Geological  Survey,  and  while  the 
main  purpose  is  to  supply  the  average  reader  with  easily 
digestible  information,  it  is  hoped  that  those  who  are 
actively  engaged  in  the  business  may  find  in-  it  some  sug- 
gestions not  altogether  unworthy  of  their  attention. 
Very  truly  yours, 

WM.  B.  PHILLIPS. 

Birmingham,  Ala.,  May,  1896, 


IRON  MAKING  IN  ALABAMA  ;    INTRODUCTION. 


IRON  MAKING  IN  ALABAMA, 

BY 

WILLIAM  B.  PHILLIPS. 

INTRODUCTION. 

During  the  last  twenty-five  years  so  great  an  improve- 
ment in  the  manufacture  of  pig  iron  and  its  utilization 
in  more  or  less  finished  products  has  taken  place  in  Ala- 
bama that  it  is  now  thought  expedient  to  describe,  as 
briefly  as  possible,  the  conditions  that  have  compassed 
the  industry  and  that  are  still  in  force. 

In  1872,  Alabama  produced  11,171  tons  of  pig  iron  ; 
in  1892,  915,296  tons.  In  1880,  the  state  produced  60,781 
tons  of  coke,  and  in  1892  1,501,571  tons.  In  the  census 
year  of  1870  the  amount  of  capital  invested  in  the  iron 
business,  including  mining,  was  $605,700,  and  excluding 
mining  $566,100.  In  that  year  the  total  production  of 
pig  iron  was  6,250  tons,  valued  at  $210,258,  and  there 
were  used  J  1,350  tons  of  ore  valued  at  $30,175.  In  the 
census  year  of  1890  the  capital  invested  in  the  mining  of 
iron  ore  alone  was  $5,244,906,  the  amount  of  ore  mined 
and  used  being  1,570,319  tons,  valued  at  $1,511,611. 

The  Southern  States  generally  sell  their  entire  iron 
product  for  purposes  other  than  steel  making.  The  iron 
goes  to  foundries,  mills  and  pipe  works.  It  was  not 
until  recently  that  any  considerable  amount  found  its 
way  into  steel  works.  It  is  not  probable  that  more  than 
one-twentieth  of  the  iron  made  in  the  South  goes  to  the 
steel  maker.  Alabama  offers  no  exception  to  this  rule. 
It  was  not  until  the  last  few  months  that  any  fairly 
large  shipments  of  iron  made  here  were  sent  to  steel 


4  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

plants.  The  significance  of  this  statement  will  appear 
when  it  is  remembered  that  the  total  amount  of  iron, 
produced  in  the  United  States  in  1895,  not  intended  for 
steel  making,  was  about  3,000,000  tons.  At  the  present 
time  Alabama  is  producing  35  %  of  the  iron  used  in  the 
foundries,  mills  and  pipe  works  of  the  country.  The 
growth  of  the  industry  has  been  conditioned  chiefly  by 
three  great  factors  : 

First,  the  cheapness  with  which  the  ores  can  be  mined 
and  delivered. 

Second,  the  proximity  of  the    ore  to  the  flux  and  fuel. 

Third,  the  tendency  of  pig  iron  consumption  towards 
the  interior. 

The  cheapness  of  an  ore  is  not  always  to  be  measured 
by  its  cost  at  the  furnace.  There  are  also  to  be  consid- 
ered its  quality  in  respect  of  its  content  of  metallic  iron 
and  the  presence  of  ingredients  which  determine  the  use 
to  which  the  pig  iron  made  from  it  can  be  put.  The 
lower  the  percentage  of  iron  in  an  ore  the  cheaper  must 
it  be  mined  and  transported  in  order  that  a  market  for 
the  pig  iron  may  be  secured  and  held.  A  very  rich  ore 
may  allow  of  mining  and  transportation  costs  that  would 
prevent  the  use  of  an  ore  less  rich.  The  same  principle 
applies  to  the  quality  of  the  ore  as  regards  its  freedom 
from  injurious  substances .  If  it  is  free  from  phosphorus 
and  sulphur,  for  instance,  it  may  be  highly  acceptable 
to  the  steel  plants.  If  at  the  same  time  it  be  rich  in 
iron  we  may  have  the  conditions  that  allow  of  maximum 
cost  at  the  furnace.  In  Alabama  we  have  ores  of  a  mod- 
erate content  of  iron,  and  they  must  therefore  be  mined, 
at  a  low  cost.  They  also  contain  too  much  phosphorus 
to  allow  of  the  pig  iron  being  used  for  making  Bessemer 
steel. 

The  principle  on  which  the  makers  of  pig  iron  in  Ala- 
bama have  had  to  proceed  is  the  utilization  of  local  ores, 
and  the  production  of  suitable  coke  from  native  coal.  It 


IRON   MAKING   IX  ALABAMA  ;  INTRODUCTION.  O 

all  seems  plain  sailing  to  us  now  that  the  yearly  output 
of  coke  exceeds  one  and  a  half  million  tons,  and  the  yield 
of  pig  iron  is  above  800,000  tons ;  but  twenty  years  ago 
it  was  by  no  means  certain  that  good  coke  could  be  made 
from  Alabama  coal  on  a  large  scale,  and  the  use  of  Red 
Mountain  ores  was  a  vexed  question.  As  late  as  1883, 
so-called  representative  analyses  of  Alabama  hematite 
were  published  showing  56  %  and  61  %  of  iron  on  the 
one  hand,  while  on  the  other  it  was  said  that  pig  iron 
made  from  Alabama  ore  and  coke  was  so  brittle  that  it 
ought  to  be  kept  under  glass  as  a  curiosity.  Both  these 
statements  were  equally  removed  from  the  truth.  When 
finally  it  became  known  that  with  but  few  exceptions 
the  Red  Mountain  ores  could  not  be  expected  to  contain 
more  than  47  %  of  iron  as  mined  and  that  the  fifty-six 
and  sixty-one  per  cent,  hematite  ores  could  be  exhausted 
in  a  single  day,  the  situation  rapidly  improved.  So  far 
as  the  ores  were  concerned,  the  problem  narrowed  down 
to  the  single  question  whether  they  could  be  successfully 
used  in  conjunction  with  cokes  of  domestic  production. 
From  that  day  to  the  present  the  question  has  changed 
but  little,  the  main  difference  being  that  the  price  of  ore 
has  steadily  diminished,  reaching  its  lowest  point  in 
1895,  and  that  the  coke  is  better  and  cheaper.  During 
a  part  of  this  year  the  price  of  soft  red  ore,  analyzing 
about  46  per  cent,  of  iron,  was  fifty  cents  per  ton,  stock 
house  delivery.  It  was  during  this  year  also  that  the 
cost  of  making  pig  iron  in  Alabama  was  at  the  lowest, 
less  than  $6  per  ton.  No  more  striking  illustration  of 
the  great  change  that  has  come  over  the  manufacture  of 
pig  iron  in  Alabama  during  the  last  few  years  can  be 
adduced  than  to  say  that  the  total  cost  of  production  is 
now  less  than  the  cost  of  the  raw  materials  five  years 
ago.  This  has  been  rendered  possible  not  only  by  reduc- 
tions in  the  cost  of  the  raw  materials,  but  also  and  par- 
ticularly by  improvements  in  furnace  practice  and  a 


6  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

closer  alliance  between  the  chemist  and  the  superintend- 
ent. There  is  a  large  iron  company  in  the  state  which 
three  years  ago  had  no  chemist,  and  the  laboratory  which 
had  formerly  been  tenanted  had  been  allowed  to  ta^e 
care  of  itself  for  two  years.  This  company  has  now  four 
chemists  in  its  employ  and  one  of  the  best  equipped 
laboratories  in  the  country.  Three  years  ago  it  was  con- 
tent to  have  some  of  its  materials  analyzed  perhaps  once 
a  month ;  now  the  number  of  analyses  per  month  is 
close  upon  four  hundred.  Chemical  inspection  of  the 
stock  goes  hand  in  hand,  with  inspection  of  the  product, 
and  there  is  now  not  a  single  thing  used  or  made  whose 
composition  is  not  known.  A  great  amount  of  material 
is  bought  and  sold  on  analysis,  and  the  inevitable  ten- 
dency is  towards  the  extension  of  this  system  to  all  ma- 
terials. The  most  progressive  companies  in  the  state 
are  now  recognizing  the  value  of  close  chemical  inspec- 
tion of  the  ores,  fluxes  and  fuels.  In  this  respect  the 
change  that  has  corne  over  the  industry  during  the  last 
five  years  is  particularly  noticeable  and  must  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  hopeful  signs  of  the  time. 

Another  agreeable  improvement  in  the  business  is  the 
willingness  of  the  iron  masters  to  exchange  information 
and  opinions,  to  visit  competitive  establishments  and 
cultivate  the  more  social  side  of  trade.  There  need  not 
be  rankling  jealousies  between  those  .engaged  in  similar 
enterprises  in  the  same  district.  To  refuse  to  impart 
information  is  to  refuse  to  acquire  it,  and  the  day  has 
long  since  passed  when  in  the  mind  of  any  one  man  is 
to  be  sought  correct  knowledge  on  all  phases  df  the 
same  matter.  Without  such  cordial  interest  in  what 
may  be  for  the  general  good,  this  sketch  of  the  materials 
used  in  making  iron  in  this  state,  however  imperfect  it 
may  be  and  doubtless  is,  could  not  have  been  undertaken 
in  any  hope  of  success.  My  own  acquaintance  with  the 
district  dates  from  1887,  and  since  that  time  I  have  ac- 


IRON  MAKINC   IN   ALABAMA;   INTRODUCTION.  7 

cumulated  nearly  10,000  analyses  of  every  kind  of  ma- 
terial used  in  making  iron  in  the  state,  coming  partly 
from  my  own  laboratory  and  partly  from  the  records  of 
companies  actively  engaged  in  the  production  of  iron. 
The  deductions  that  will  be  met  with  in  the  body  of  this 
Report  are  founded  upon  analyses  that  were  made  in  the 
interest  of  those  prosecuting  the  iron  business,  not  upon 
analyses  of  stray  fragments  or  hand  specimens.  They 
represent  hundred  of  thousands  of  tons  of  ore,  limestone, 
dolomite,  coal  and  coke,  the  samples  being  drawn  from 
the  stockhouses  during  a  period  extending  over  many 
years.  In  numerous  instances  samples  of  the  ore  were 
taken  direct  from  the  mines,  foot  by  foot  down  the  seam, 
and  from  mine  and  railroad  cars.  The  constant  effort 
has  been  not  to  include  in  the  pages  of  this  report  any 
cpnclusions  that  were  not  based  upon  the  actual  practice 
in  the  State  and  District,  and  the  reader  is  assured  that 
no  pains  have  been  spared  to  accomplish  this  end. 

To  those  who  have  most  generously  given  the  inform- 
ation desired  of  them,  I  would  express  my  hearty  thanks. 
It  is  a  source  of  great  pleasure  to  me  that  the  replies  to 
requests  of  this  nature  should  have  been  met  so  fully 
and  so  courteously,  and  I  trust  that  the  interest  in  what 
the  state  has  to  offer  to  the  makers  of  iron  may  be  deep- 
ened and  broadened  from  this  attempt  to  set  in  order 
the  results  already  attained. 

According  to  Swank  (History  of  Iron  in  all  Ages,  2nd 
Ed.,  p.  293,  et  seq.) ,  who  quotes  from  Leslie,  the  oldest 
furnace  in  Alabama  was  built  about  1818.  It  was  a  char- 
coal furnace,  and  was  situated  a  few  miles  west  of  Rus- 
sell ville,  Franklin  county,  doubtless  to  use  the  brown 
ore  of  the  Russellville  belt,  which  is  of  excellent  quality 
and  is  now  used  by  the  coke  furnaces  at  Sheffield.  It 
seems  to  have  been  abandoned  about  1827,  and  from 
that  date  until  1888,  a  period  of  60  years  this  deposit  of 
ore  remained  undeveloped  and  unused.  Not  long  since 


8  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

there  came  to  hand  evidence  of  the  existence  of  this  old 
furnace  in  the  shape  of  a  piece  of  very  impure  iron  which 
was  brought  to  the  writer  from  that  part  of  Franklin 
county  by  a  person  who  supposed  it  was  iron  ore. 

From  1827  until  1843,  there  is  no  record  of  any  fur- 
nace building  in  the  State,  the  next  one  being  at  Polks- 
ville,  Calhoun  county;  then  one  at  Shelby,  Shelby  county , 
in  1848  ;  and  one  at  Round  Mountain  in  1853. 

Charcoal  |ron  has  been  made  at  Shelby  almost  contin- 
uously since  1848,  and  the  reputation  of  the  iron  has 
not  been  excelled  from  that  day  to  the  present  time. 

The  furnace  was  built  by  Horace  Ware,  who  after- 
wards added  a  foundry  and  a  mill  for  cotton  ties  and  bar 
iron.  This  furnace  was  burned  in  1858,  but  rebuilt  at 
once.  A  larger  mill  was  built  in  1859,  and  iron  rolled 
April  llth,  1860.  This  mill  was  very  active  during  the 
war  of  the  Confederacy,  and  was  burned  by  the  Union 
troops  under  General  Wilson  in  1865.  It  has  not  been 
rebuilt,  but  a  part  of  the  machinery  was  used  in  con- 
structing the  rolling  mill  at  Helena  in  1872.  It  may  not 
be  amiss  at  this  point,  while  briefly  considering  this  his- 
toric furnace  and  mill  to  quote  a  very  interesting  letter 
written  by  Mr.  E.  T.  Witherby,  assistant  secretary  of 
the  Shelby  Iron  Company  to  Mr.  Swank  in  1888.  "The 
first  blast  furnace  erected  here  went  into  blast  in  1848. 
Horace  Ware  was  its  proprietor.  In  1854,  Mr.  Robert 
Thomas  made  iron  in  a  forge  near  here.  This  iron  was 
sent  to  England  and  returned  in  razors  and  knives.  In 
1859  Mr.  Ware  began  the  erection  of  a  rolling  mill.  It 
was  completed  and  started  in  the  spring  of  1860.  In 
1862  Mr.  Ware  sold  his  property  to  the  Shelby  County 
Iron  Manufacturing  Company,  which  erected  a  new  fur- 
nace, the  one  which  we  have  recently  torn  down,  and  on 
whose  site  we  are  erecting  a  new  stack.  The  rolling 
mill  was  enlarged  in  1862,  and  was  operated  continuously 
until  March  31st,  1865,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  Gen. 


IRON  MAKING  IN  ALABAMA  ;   INTRODUCTION.  9 

eral  Wilson  of  the  Union  army.  It  was  in  this  mill,  in 
1864,  that  the  plates  were  rolled  for  the  armor  of  the 
iron  clad  ram  Tennessee.  Judge  James  W.  Lapsley,  one 
of  the  stockholders  and  directors  of  the  present  Shelby 
Iron  Company,  was  made  a  prisoner  by  the  Union  forces 
in  1863,  while  in  Kentucky  looking  for  puddlers  for  this 
mill. 

When  I  came  here,  nearly  twenty  years  ago,  we  had 
plates,  merchant  bars,  and  strap  rails  on  hand  made  en- 
tirely of  Shelby  iron  and  rolled  in  this  mill.  Some  of 
the  plates,  known  to  us  now  as  the  "gun  boat  iron"  are 
still  in  our  store  house,  but  they  have  been  slowly  dis- 
appearing under  the  demand  of  our  blacksmiths  for  "an 
extra  good  piece  of  iron''  for  uthis  job,"  or  that  "par- 
ticular place."  Some  of  these  plates  are  8  inches  by  cl- 
inches, and  others  11  inches  by  5  inches,  and  of  various 
lengths;  originally,  they  were,  perhaps,  10  feet  long. 
Shelby  pig  iron  was  also  shipped  to  the  Confederate  ar- 
senal and  foundry  at  Selma,  Alabama,  in  1864,  where 
the  Tennessee  was  constructed  and  fitted  out.  This  iron 
doubtless  went  into  guns  and  other  castings  for  this  ves- 
sel. Catesby  ap  Jones  was  superintendent  of  the  arsenal, 
and  with  his  senior  in  rank,  Franklin  Buchanan,  both 
pupils  of  that  sea-god,  Matthew  Calbraith  Perry,  wrought 
out  the  Tennessee.  They  were  as  full  of  progressive  ideas 
regarding  steam  and  armor  as  their  master,  and  nothing 
but  the  scanty  means  at  their  disposal  prevented  a  much 
more  formidable  iron-clad  than  the  Tennessee  from  being 
set  afloat." 

Car- wheel  makers  are  the  exclusive  users  of  our  iron. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  in  connection  with  the  Con- 
federate States  foundry  at  Selma,  that  it  used  coke  made 
from  the  Gholson  seam  mined  at  Thompson's  Lower 
Mine,  on  Pine  Island  branch,  in  Sec.  10,  T.  24,  R.  10  E., 
Bibb  county,  and  elsewhere  in  the  vicinity,  as  we  are 
informed  by  Eugene  A.  Smith  (Ala.  Geol.  Survey,  Re- 


10  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

port  of  Progress  for  1875,  pp.  32  and  33.)  This  was 
about  1863,  and  is  probably  the  first  use  of  Alabama 
coke  for  foundry  purposes. 

"In  1863-64  Capt.  Schultz  of  the  Confederate  army 
made  a  large  quantity  of  coke  from  seams  in  the  Coosa 
coal  field,  getting  it  to  market  by  floating  it  down  the 
river  in  flats  to  the  railroad  bridge  across  the  Coosa 
river,  whence  it  was  carried  by  rail  to  Montgomery  and 
Selma.  This  coke  was  said  to  be  the  finest  ever  made 
in  the  State,  and  to  equal  the  very  best  English  cokes." 
(Smith  ut  supra,  p.  38.) 

•In  1825,  there  was  a  bloomary  nearMontevallo,  Shelby 
county ;  several  in  Bibb  county  in  1830-1840;  one  in 
Talladega  county  in  1842  ;  two  in  Calhoun  county  in 
1842.  In  1856  there  were  enumerated  17  forges  and 
bloomaries,  about  one-half  being  in  operation  and  pro- 
ducing 202  tons  of  blooms  and  bar  iron.  The  total  pro- 
duct of  charcoal  pig  iron  in  1856  was  1,495  gross  tons. 

In  1876  the  Eureka  Coke  Furnace  was  built  at  Oxmoor, 
Jefferson  county,  by  Col.  J.  W.  Sloss,  one  of  the  most 
active  iron-masters  in  the  State,  and  the  founder  of  the 
coke  iron  industry.  This  was  the  first  furnace  to  go  in 
on  coke,  and  was  followed  in  1880  by  the  Alice  furnace, 
built  at  Birmingham  in  1879-80,  by  H.  F.  DeBardeleben, 
another  noted  name  in  the  history  of  the  iron  trade  in 
Alabama.  Then  followed  the  first  of  the  Sloss  furnaces 
at  Birmingham,  built  by  Col.  J.  W.  Sloss  in  1881-82, 
and  put  in  blast  April  12th,  1882. 

Space  would  fail  us  to  enumerate  the  names  <if  those 
concerned  in  the  early  history  of  the  coke -iron  trade  in 
Alabama,  but  J.  W.  Sloss  (who  died  in  1890),  H.  F. 
DeBardeleben,  T.  T.  Hillman  and  Geo.  L.  Morris,  who 
are  still  enjoying  the  fruits  of  their  foresight  and  energy, 
will  always  be  first  called  to  mind  by  the  historian  of 


IRON  MAKING  IN  ALABAMA  J    INTRODUCTION.  11 

the  days,  not  long  past  as  we  measure  years,  but  removed 
from  us  by  a  continuous  series  of  splendid  achievements. 
Nt'  monumentum  quwris,  circa  invoice. 

WM.  B.  PHILLIPS. 
BIRMINGHAM,  ALA.,  May,  1896. 


IROK  MAKING  IN  ALABAMA  ;  THE  ORES  !  13 

(1KXERAL    DISCU8SIOE. 


IRON  MAKING  IN  ALABAMA- 
CHAPTER  i. 
THE  ORES:     GENERAL  DISCUSSION. 


The  ores  used  in  the  production  of  pig  iron  in  Ala- 
bama fall  naturally  into  two  classes,  and  for  convenience 
of  reference  the  local  names  will  be  used  with  full  ex- 
planations under  each.  They  are  either  limonkes,  the 
so-called  "brown  ores,"  or  hematites,  the  so-called  soft, 
and  hard  ores.  There  are  deposits  of  blackband  ores 
and  of  magnetites,  none  of  which,  however,  come  into 
use.  Efforts  have  been  made  to  use  the  more  or  less 
bituminous  blackband  ores,  both  raw  and  calcined,  but 
they  were  not  successful.  Several  years  ago  an  attempt 
was  made  at  one  of  the  coke  furnaces  to  employ  the  raw 
black-band  ore  found  in  association  with  one  of  the  coal 
seams  in  the  northern  part  of  Jefferson  county,  but  the 
furnace  worked  badly,  probably  owing  to  the  very  bitu- 
minous nature  of  the  ore,  and  the  experiment  was  dis- 
continued. This  same  ore  was  afterwards  calcined  in 
piles  in  the  open  air  and  a  portion  of  the  resulting  ma- 
terial was  of  fair  quality.  But  owing,  it  is  thought,  to 
the  lack  of  care  in  the  management  of  the  business  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  trouble  from  the  caking  of  the  ore. 
In  places  it  resembled  impure  iron  and  was  almost  malle- 
able. Nothing  has  been  done  in  this  direction  for  some 
time,  as  the  available  supply  of  ores  that  do  not  need 
such  treatment  is  still  very  large.  Practically  all  of  the 
iron  made  in  the  State  has  been  produced  from  limonite, 
hematite,  or  a  mixture  of  the  two. 


14  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

For  special  purposes,  as  for  instance,  car  wheel  iron 
or  some  particular  kind  of  iron  destined  for  the  pipe 
works,  brown  ores  alone  are  used,  although  at  times 
some  admixture  of  hematite  is  permitted  even  then. 
For  ordinary  foundry  and  mill  irons,  and  of  late  for  basic 
iron,  the  common  practice  is  to  use  a  mixture  of  brown 
and  hematite  ores,  the  proportion  of  brown  ore  being  for 
the  most  part  about  20  per  cent,  of  the  ore  burden,  al- 
though there  are  some  important  exceptions  to  this  rule. 
It  seems  best  to  take  up  the  ores  under  separate  head- 
ings-that  a  fuller  understanding  of  the  subject  may  be 
reached,  but  before  doing  so  some  observations  on  the 
ores  in  general  may  not  be  out  of  place. 

In  Alabama  a  vast  deal  of  prospecting  has  been  carried 
on  for  more  than  twenty  years  to  ascertain  if  it  were  pos- 
sible to  find  richer  ores  or  ores  of  cheaper  accessibility. 
During  the  flush  times  several  chemical  laboratories  were 
in  active  operation  in  more  than  one  town  and  thousands 
of  analyses  were  made  of  almost  every  known  deposit. 
In  many  cases  the  samples  were  taken  by  interested  per- 
sons and  in  many  others  by  persons  wholly  unacquainted 
with  the  first  principles  of  sampling  ore  seams.  In  the 
writer's  own  experience  it  has  happened  scores  of  times 
that  a  single  piece  of  ore,  not  larger  than  the  fist,  would 
be  brought  in  as  representing  the  seam.  In  one  case  of 
the  kind  it  happened  that  the  ore  showed  a  comparatively 
small  amount  of  phosphorus,  with  some  46  per  cent,  of 
iron.  Whereupon  the  report  was  circulated  that  a  large 
deposit  of  Bessemer  ore  had  been  discovered  and  for  a 
while  speculators  were  busy.  If  there  is  any  large  de- 
posit of  Bessemer  ore  in  the  State  it  has  not  yet  been 
found.  There  are  places  where  some  of  the  brown  ores 
show  phosphorus  below  the  Bessemer  limit,  but  fifty  feet 
away  they  are  liable  to  carry  from  0.20  per  cent,  to  0.50 
percent,  of  this  element.  The  same  observation  applies 
to  a  certain  seam  of  fine  grained  soft  red  hematite.  Many 


IROX  MAKING  IN  ALABAMA  ;  THE  ORES  :  15 

GENERAL   DISCUSSION. 

seams  have  been  carefully  sampled  and  many  analyses 
made  in  the  search  for  ore  that  would  not  show  phos- 
phorus above  the  Bessemer  limit,  i.  e.,  not  over  0.04  per 
cent,  for  50  per  cent,  of  iron.  But  the  conclusion  has 
finally  been  reached  that  for  the  present  we  shall  have 
to  confine  ourselves  to  ores  that  contain  from  0.10  to 
0.40  per  cent,  of  phosphorus  per  50  per  cent,  of  iron, 
and  in  many  of  the  brown  ores  we  may  expect  a  consid- 
erable increase  over  these  figures.  It  will  not  be  denied 
that  for  a  small  furnace  and  with  great  care  in  the  selec- 
tion of  the  ore,  the  chemist  being  constantly  employed 
in  analyzing  for  phosphorus,  it  might  be  possible  to 
make  Bessemer  iron  in  this  State  from  some  of  the  brown 
ores,  but  no  one  could  be  advised  to  undertake  the  pro- 
ject with  present  lights.  The  attempt  has  been  made 
and  several  thousand  tons  of  iron  with  less  than  0.10 
per  cent,  of  phosphorus  were  produced,  but  the  enter- 
prise languished  and  has  not  been  revived. 

The  treacherous  nature  of  brown  ore  with  respect  to 
its  content  of  phosphorus,  no  less  than  with  respect  to 
the  continuity  of  the  deposit,  is  enough  to  forbid  reason- 
able hope  of  success. 

The  hematite  ore,  on  the  other  hand,  carry  phosphorus 
much  above  the  Bessemer  limit.  They  carry  generally 
from  0.30%  to  0.40%  of  phosphorus,  although  there  is  in 
the  district  contiguous  to  Birmingham  a  small  seam  of 
red  hematite  that  carries  5.41%  of  phosphorus  and  an- 
other 2.31%  ,  the  metallic  iron  being  about  38%  . 

In  the  early  days  of  iron  making  in  the  Birmingham 
district  it  was  the  rule,  according  to  one  of  the  contract- 
ors, "to  mine  anything  that,  was  red,"  and  what  was 
mined  went  into  the  furnace.  The  difference  between 
good,  bad  and  indifferent  may  have  been  known,  but 
\s-as  not  a  factor  with  the  contractor  or  with  the  furnace 
manager.  All  this  has  been  changed  and  it  is  now  re- 


16  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

quired  that  the  ore  shall  be  something  more  than  merely 
red. 

The  principles  underlying  the  valuation  of  iron  ores 
are  but  little  used  in  the  state,  the  old  system  of  pur- 
chasing by  the  ton  still  being  maintained.  The  average 
value  of  the  ores  in  1894  was  given  by  Mr.  John  Birkin- 
bine  (Mineral  Resources  of  the  United  States,  U.S. 
Geol.  Survey,  1894)  at  83  cents  per  ton,  a  decline  of  13 
cents  since  1889,  Accepting  this  as  correct,  Alabama 
would  rank  third  in  the  list  of  states  showing  a  low 
value  per  ton  of  ore,  Minnesota  being  first  with  73  cents 
and  Texas  next  with  75  cents.  The  value  of  an  ore  is 
the  price  at  the  mine,  for,  unless  the  minor  also  pays 
the  freight,  he  has  already  added  to  the  cost  of  mining 
all  the  legitimate  costs  that  should  apply  to  a  ton,  includ- 
ing royalty.  If  his  contract  requires  that  he  pay  the 
freight,  he  can  not  reasonably  add  the  freight  to  the 
value  of  the  ore,  for  this  varies  with  the  distance  it  has 
to  be  transported. 

With  the  exception  of  some  brown  ores,  which  are 
purchased  on  the  unit  basis,  but  which  constitute  a  small 
part  of  the  ore  used,  and  some  special  contracts  relating 
to  hematite,  the  ores  in  Alabama  are  bought  by  the  ton 
without  regard  to  their  composition.  The  price  is  so 
much  per  ton,  whether  they  carry  forty,  or  forty-three, 
or  forty-seven,  or  fifty  per  cent,  of  iron. 

This  system  has  but  little  to  recommend  it,  except  a 
mistaken  notion  of  economy  in  the  saving  of  laboratory 
expenses  and  sampling.  A  close  inspection  may  be  kept 
on  the  ore  as  received  and  daily  reports  made  as  to  its 
composition,  but  unless  there  is  a  penalty  attached  to 
the  shipping  of  poor  ore,  there  is  really  no  way  in  which 
it  can  be  stopped.  The  price  is  nniform,  no  matter 
what  the  ore  may  be.  It  may  be  improperly  mined,  it 
may  contain  unusual  amounts  of  water,  or  clay,  or  chert, 
but  the  price  is  the  same  to  the  furnace.  A  car  load  of 


IRON  MAKIN^G  IN  ALA  II A  MA  ;  THE  ORES  :          •          17 
.  I:I;AI.  mscussiox. 

ore  may  •ontain  47  f'/c  of  iron  to-day,  to-morrow  the  ore 
from  the  same  mine  may  contain  only  43  %  ,  yet  the  price 
is  the  same.  A  brown  ore  may  reach  the  furnace  with 
its  customary  7  %  of  water,  to-morrow  it  may  have  13  % , 
yet  the  ore  is  sold  by  the  ton  and  the  water  is  counted  as 
ore. 

There  are  two  main  results  from  this  system  :  First, 
the  contractor  is  not  impelled  to  furnish  ore  any  better 
than  would  be  accepted.  His  sole  aim  is  to  avoid  dis- 
putes with  the  furnace  man  by  sending  ore  that  indeed 
could  be  better  but  still  will  pass  muster.  There  may 
arise  under  this  condition  of  affairs  a  tendency  towards 
careless  mining,  and  if  the  line  between  acceptable  ore 
and  bad  ore  is  an  arbitrary  one,  as  is  frequently  the  case, 
there  is  a  temptation  to  put  the  shot  down  a  little  bit 
deeper  than  the  line  of  separation.  In  the  mining  of  the 
soft  red  ores  by  open  cut,  the  over-burden  having  been 
removed,  it  is  practically  impossible  to  distinguish  be- 
tween ore  of  46  %  iron  and  ore  of  40  %  simply  by  the 
eye.  The  chemist  alone  can  decide  the  question.  It  is 
a  fortunate  circumstance,  in  the  Birmingham  district, 
that  for  the  most  part  the  contractors  are  fully  alive  to 
the  advantages  of  shipping  ore  that  will  cause  no  dis- 
pute. Under  the  present  system  it  is  difficult  to  see 
how  they  could  ship  better  ore  than  they  do.  But  the 
system  itself  is  wrong  in  principle.  The  administration 
of  it  may  be  as  fair  to  the  contractor  as  to  the  furnace, 
but  this  does  not  do  away  with  the  main  objection  to  it, 
which  is  that  the  same  price  is  paid  for  ore  that  is 
barely  usable  as  for  ore  that  is  really  good.  It  can  not 
be  denied  that  this  objection  is  valid  and  that  until  it 
is  removed  the  true  principle  underlying  the  valuation 
of  ores  can  not  be  put  into  practice. 

The  second  result  from  the  system  of  purchasing  ore 


18  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

by  the  ton  and  not  on  analysis  is  that  the  furnace  man 
can  not  know  that  his  ore  to-day  is  of  the  same  com- 
position as  it  was  yesterday  and  will  be  to-morrow. 
The  purchase  of  ore  on  analysis  does  not  necessarily  con- 
dition regularity  of  stock,  but  it  is  a  long  step  towards 
this  most  desirable  end.  It  is  more  than  probable  that 
under  it  there  would  be  a  tendency  towards  the  higher 
grades  of  ore,  for  these  would  be  more  profitable  to  the 
contractor  than  the  lower  grades. 

The  irregularity  in  the  stock  is  one  of  the  most  serious 
obstacles  with  which  the  Alabama  iron  master  has  to 
contend,  especially  when  he  is  using  Red  Mountain  ores. 
The  most  untiring  vigilance  is  demanded  in  order  that 
the  entire  make  of  the  furnace  shall  not  be  injuriously 
affected.  It  is  of  course  the  fact  that  a  great  deal  of  ex- 
cellent iron  has  been  made  in  the  State  without  calling 
into  constant  requisition  the  services  of  a  chemist.  But 
this  is  no  more  than  saying  that  many  a  case  of  illness 
has  been  cured  without  the  care  of  a  regular  physician. 
We  venture  the  assertion  that  even  under  the  present 
insufficient  system  a  lower  cost  account  for  the  making 
of  iron  would  be  shown  by  the  companies  employing 
chemists  than  by  the  others.  By  far  the  greater  amount 
of  iron  now  made  in  Alabama  is  the  product  of  com- 
panies with  well  equipped  laboratories,  and  some  of  the 
most  important  sales  of  iron  ever  consummated  in  the 
state  were,  to  a  great  degree,  brought  about  by  the  fact 
that  the  laboratory  could  be  depended  upon  not  only  for 
the  inspection  of  the  product,  but  also  and  particularly 
for  the  inspection  of  the  stock. 

Uniformly  good  iron  can  not  be  made  at  a  uniformly 
low  cost  with  irregular  stock,  and  variations  in  the  cost 
of  the  iron  are  to  a  considerable  extent  due  to  variations 
in  the  composition  of  the  raw  materials.  Pay  close  at- 
tention to  what  goes  into  the  furnace  and  the  tapping 
hole  will  take  care  of  itself.  This  is  the  key  note  of  the 


C,  A 

IRON  MAKING   IN  ALABAMA;  THE  OR 

GENERAL    DISCUSSION. 

entire  harmony.  But  there  has  not  yet  been  a  very  full 
orchestra  in  this  State,  partly  because  ore  was  plentiful 
and  cheap  and  partly  because  it  seemed  to  be  more  eco- 
nomical to  fill  the  furnace  with  almost  anything  that 
might  be  to  hand  and  trust  Providence  to  look  after  the 
cast-house. 

There  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  the  ores  used  that 
forbids  their  sale  on  analysis,  and  as  this  system  is  al- 
ready applied  to  nearly  all  the  flux  used,  and  to  a  not 
inconsiderable  quantity  of  coke  and  ore,  the  extension 
of  it  would  not  appear  to  offer  insurmountable  difficul- 
ties. The  greater  part  of  the  cost  of  making  iron  is 
borne  by  raw  materials.  The  quality  of  these  materials, 
therefore,  and  their  regularity  of  composition  are  of  vital 
importance.  As  respects  composition,  there  is  a  point 
beyond  which  it  is  not  possible  to  make  iron  profitably, 
no  matter  what  the  price  of  the  materials  may  be.  How 
low  this  point  may  be  will  depend,  ceteris  paribus,  upon 
the  difference  between  the  cost  of  the  iron  and  its  selling 
price.  When  this  difference  is  considerable,  as  was  the 
case  in  this  State  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago,  iron  may  be 
made  at  a  profit  from  very  inferior  materials.  But  when 
the  margin  of  profit  is  narrow,  as  has  been  the  case  of 
late  years,  the  use  of  inferior  materials  becomes  impossi- 
ble. "With  increasing  competition  and  a  narrowing  sel- 
vage of  profits,  the  necessity  for  using  better  and  better 
ore  becomes  more  and  more  pressing.  To  keep  the  fur- 
•  Daces  in  blast  and  avert  disaster  from  the  district,  it  may 
happen  that  the  price  of  ore  will  fall  below  the  figures  at 
which  it  can  be  mined  profitably,  unless  the  operations 
be  conducted  on  a  very  large  scale  and  long  time  con- 
tracts can  be  made,  assuring  a  steady  output  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  Under  such  conditions  some  concessions 
may  be  made  by  the  furnace  men  in  respect  to  quality, 
but  at  the  same  time  they  would  be  warranted  in  hold- 


20  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

ing  out  for  uniformity  of  composition.  One  would  be 
inclined  to  consider  the  uniformity  of  composition  as 
more  important  than  the  quality,  provided  always  that 
this  would  not  entail  too  much  handling  of  stock  per  ton 
of  iron  made.  When  ore  is  sold  for  stock-house  delivery 
at  a  fraction  over  a  cent  per  unit  of  iron,  it  would  seem 
that  no  further  reduction  in  price  could  be  expected. 

Under  all  circumstances,  except  such  as  embody  the 
sale  of  the  ore  at  so  much  per  unit  of  iron,  there  will  be 
complaint  by  the  furnace  man  that  the  ore  is  not  as  good 
as  it  might  be,  and  it  will  be  met  by  the  miner  with  the 
assertion  that  it  is  as  good  as  it  can  be  at  the  price  paid 
for  it.  This  may,  indeed,  be  true,  but  at  the  same  time 
it  is  not  to  be  hastily  concluded  that  for  more  money  the 
miner  is  willing  to  guarantee  better  ore.  For  the  most 
part  his  endeavor  is  to  get  the  largest  possible  returns 
from  the  smallest  possible  outlay,  a  resolution  in  the 
highest  degree  laudable  but  apt,  at  times,  to  cause  more 
or  less  friction  as  to  shipments.  To  him  a  ton  of  ore  is 
a  ton  of  ore.  It  weighs  2240  pounds,  and  whether  it 
contains  fifty  per  cent,  of  iron  or  forty-five  he  receives 
the  same  pay.  But  to  the  furnace  man,  who  has  to  con- 
sider the  amount  of  iron  he  can  get  from  that  ton  and 
the  ease  with  which  he  can  do  it,  the  question  is  of  an- 
other kind. 

There  is  a  side  of  the  matter  not  yet  touched ^upon, 
but  which  can  not  be  neglected .  If  the  higher  grade  ore 
only  is  mined,  the  exhaustion  of  the  deposit  is  certainly 
set  forward.  It  rarely  happens  that  all  of  a  deposit  is. 
high  grade  ore,  and  if  only  the  best  is  in  demand  one 
has  to  cut  his  cloth  to  suit  the  pattern.  The  miner  may 
have  incurred  large  expense  in  opening  the  mine  and  in. 
equipping  it  with  proper  machinery  under  the  expecta- 
tion that  his  output  would  be  profitable  to  him.  If  he 
is  restricted  to  a  certain  portion  of  the  ore  and  this  be 
below  the  amount  required  to  yield  a  profit  on  the  invest- 


IRON   MAKING  IN  ALABAMA  ;  THE  ORES  I  21 

GENERAL    DISCUSSION. 

Bient,  he  would  be  subjected  to  hardships  not  tolerable 
under  ordinary  conditions.  He  is  quite  willing  to  en- 
courage the  belief  that  it  is  cheaper  to  use  a  large  amount 
of  low  priced,  low  grade  ore  than  to  pay  more  for  better 
ore  of  which  not  so  much  is  used.  In  the  minds  of  some 
whose  opinions  should  be  worthy  of  consideration  the 
value  of  a  fifty  per  cent,  ore  is  proportional  to  the  value 
of  a  forty-five  per  cent,  ore,  and  they  argue  that  as  the 
lower  grade  material  can  be  bought  for  fifty  cents  per 
ton,  or  1.11  cents  per  unit  of  iron,  the  better  grade  ma- 
terial is  worth  proportionally  more,  or  55.5  cents  per 
ton.  They  forget  that  the  value  of  an  ore  increases  very 
rapidly  as  one  nears  the  fifty  per  cent.  mark.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  if  a  forty-five  per  cent,  ore  is  worth  fifty 
cents,  a  fifty  per  cent,  ore  is  worth  83  cents,  that  is,  it 
will  cost  as  much  to  make  a  ton  of  iron  from  the  one  at 
50  cents  as  from  the  other  at  83  cents.  Above  fifty  per 
cent,  the  difference  becomes  even  more  striking. 

Attempts  at  improving  the  quality  of  the  ores  used  in 
the  State  have  been  confined  so  far  almost  entirely  to  the 
brown  ores,  although  it  is  possible  to  better  the  soft  red 
ores  to  a  very  considerable  extent  also.  A  description 
of  the  methods  in  use  will  appear  under  each  kind  of 
ore,  so  that  it  is  merely  necessary  here  to  direct  atten- 
tion to  the  matter  in  a  general  way. 

The  ore  that  most  readily  lends  itself  to  processes  of 
beneficiation,  without  any  very  heavy  expense,  is  the 
limonite  or  brown  ore.  Occurring,  as  it  does,  as  more 
or  less  isolated  masses  imbedded  in  clay,  it  was  compar- 
atively easy  to  devise  machinery  that  would  treat  the 
entire  mass  of  stuff,  removing  the  clay  by  suspension 
in  water  and  passing  the  cleaned  ore  over  screens  of  ap- 
propriate sizes.  In  this  manner  the  clay,  unless  it  was 
of  a  very  plastic  nature,  was  removed  from  the  ore,  the 
wash  water  being  collected  in  settling  dams  and  again 


22  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

used,  after  the  clay  had  been  deposited.  The  process 
was  crude  at  first  and  the  ore  was  insufficiently  cleaned, 
but  of  late  years  it  has  been  much  improved  and  can 
now  be  depended  on  to  furnish  fairly  good  ore  from  even 
the  more  tenacious  clays. 

At  some  establishments  it  has  been  customary  to  im- 
prove the  brown  ores  still  further  by  calcining  the  washed 
ore  in  open  piles  with  wood  or  charcoal  "breeze"  as  fuel, 
and,  later,  in  gas  fired  kilns.  In  this  manner  the  ordi- 
nary water  is  completely  removed,  and  the  combined 
water,  which  does  not  go  off  under  a  full  red  head,  to  an 
extent  depending  on  the  temperature  and  the  duration 
of  the  firing.  Washed  brown  ore  carrying  44  per  cent, 
of  iron  can  be  greatly  improved  by  calcining,  the  iron  in 
the  calcined  ore  being  as  high  as  51  per  cent,  over  a  pe- 
riod of  several  months. 

While  it  is  now  customary  to  wash  nearly  all  the 
brown  ore  used  in  the  State,  but  little  calcining  is  done. 
The  reasons  for  this  practice  will  appear  under  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  brown  ores,  and  it  will  be  shown  that  un- 
less the  deposit  is  known  to  be  large  or  the  demands 
upon  it  not  very  exacting  as  to  quantity,  the  erection  of 
calcining  kilns  could  not  be  expected  to  yield  much  re- 
turn on  the  investment. 

For  improving  the  soft  red'  ores  several  plans  have 
been  proposed, but  none  of  them  have  worked  their  way 
into  -actual  use  on  a  large  scale,  although  at  least  one 
of  them  may  now  be  said  to  have  passed  the  experimen- 
tal stage.  It  was  proposed  to  wash  the  lower  gradev  soft 
red  ores  in  such  a  manner  as  to  remove  the  more  ferru- 
ginous material  from  the  more  sandy  portion  and  to  re- 
cover the  ore  in  settling  dams.  Some  experiments  were 
very  successful  as  regards  the  possibility  of  concentrat- 
ing the  ore,  but  the  large  amount  of  water  required  at 
points  where  it  was  expensive  to  get  and  the  impracti- 
cability of  handling  large  quantities  of  damp  ore  that 


IRON   MAKING   IN  ALABAMA  ;  THE  ORES  I  23 

GENERAL   DISCUSSION. 

would  certainly  fall  into  the  finest  powder  as  soon  as  it 
was  charged  into  the  furnace  have  caused  the  investiga- 
tion to  be  postponed. 

During  the  last  two  or  three  years  extensive  experi- 
ments have  been  made  with  the  hope  of  concentrating 
these  ores  magnetically.  Two  plans  have  been  propos- 
ed. First,  to  render  the  ore  magnetic  by  raising  it  to  a 
full  red  heat  in  a  properly  constructed  kiln  and  then 
passing  a  reducing  gas  over  it  so  as  to  convert  the  ferric 
oxide  into  the  magnetic  oxide.  Subsequent  crushing 
and  sizing  would  bring  the  ore  into  a  condition  in  which 
it  could  be  treated  over  a  magnetic  separator,  the  sand, 
&c.  being  removed  by  centrifugal  action.  A  great  deal 
of  work  has  been  done  in  this  direction  and  the  possibil- 
ities of  the  process  are  extremely  encouraging. 

The  other  plan  for  magnetic  concentration  of  these 
low  grade  soft  ores  is  to  dry  them  thoroughly,  crush  and 
size  and  pass  over  a  magnetic  belt  which  will  pick  up 
the  more  ferruginous  portions  and  allow  the  more  sandy 
portions  to  fall  away  into  suitable  receptacles.  Some 
work  has  been  done  along  this  line  and  the  results  are 
promising.  It  will  be  some  time  before  definite  informa- 
tion can  be  given  to  the  public. 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  it  may  be  said  that  in  actual 
practice  the  only  ores  subjected  to  a  process  of  benefici- 
ation  on  a  large  scale  are  the  brown  ores.  Practically 
all  of  the  pig  iron  made  in  Alabama  is  obtained  from 
native  ores.  In  this  respect  the  situation  is  quite  the 
reverse  of  that  found  in  Ohio,  which  with  a  pig  iron 
production  of  1,463,789  tons  in  1895  probably  did  not 
derive  more  than  3  %  of  it  from  native  ore.  The  only 
ores  brought  into  Alabama  for  any  purpose  are  some 
brown  ore  from  Georgia,  a  little  "spathite"  ore  from 
Tennessee,  and  Lake  ore  for  use  as  "fix"  in  the  rolling 
mills. 


24  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

The  production  and  value  of  the  ore  mined  in  the 
State,  so  far  as  can  now  be  ascertained,  are  given  in  the 
following  table,  compiled  from  the  reports  of  Mr.  John 
Birkinbine  to  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  Di- 
vision of  Mineral  Resources,  from  the  census  returns  and 
from  independent  sources.  For  convenience  of  compari- 
son the  rank  of  the  State  as  a  producer  of  iron  ore  and 
the  amounts  and  value  of  ore  mined  in  the  entire  coun- 
try are  also  given,  for  the  same  period. 


IRON   MAKING   IN  ALABAMA  J  THE  ORES  : 
GENERAL    DISCUSSION. 


25 


TABLE  I. 

PRODUCTION    AND    VALUE    OF    IRON    ORES  IN 
'     ALABAMA  AND  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


ALABAMA. 

UNITED  STATES. 

* 

1 

Value. 

Per 

cent. 

Value. 

83 

Tons. 

of 

Tons. 

*o 

Per 

Total. 

Pro- 
duc- 

Per 

Total. 

1 

Ton. 

tion. 

Ton. 

— 

1,838 

$  3.68 

$          6,770     0  12 

1,579,318 

$  4.23 

$    6,981,679 

19 

3,720!    5.31 

19,765     0.15 

2,401,485 

5.31 

12,757,848    15 

1870 

11,350     2.66 

30,175     0.21 

5,302,952 

5.63 

29,843,420    16 

171,139!     1.18 

201,865     2.3 

7,497,509 

3.09 

23,156,955      7 

220,0001     1-30 
2r>0,000';     1-20 

286,000     2.4 
300,000     2.8 

9,094,369 
9,000,000 

2.97 
3.60 

27,000,000 
32,400,000 

1883 

385,  000      1.20 

462,000     4.6 

8,240,594     3.00 

24,750,000 

420,000     1.00          420,000'     5.1 

8,200,000 

2.75 

22,550,000 

505,000 

1.00          505,000 

6.6 

7,600.000     2.50:    19,000,000 

1886 

650,000     0  96;         624,000 

6.5 

10,000,000 

2.80     28.000,000 

1887 

675,000 

0.96:         648,000 

6.0 

11,300,000 

3.00     33,900,000 

1S8K 

1,000,000 

0.96 

960,000 

8.3 

12,060,000 

2.40 

28,944,000 

1,570,000 

0.96 

1,507,200 

10.9 

14,518,041 

2.30 

33,351,^78 

2 

1,897,815 

1.00       1,897,815 

11.8 

16,036,043 

2.20 

35,279,394 

2 

1891 

1,986,830 

1.00       1,986,830 

13.6 

14,591,178 

2.10 

30,641,473 

2 

1892 

2,312,071 

1.06       L'.442,575 

14.2 

16,296,666 

2.04 

33,204,896 

2 

1893 

1,742,410 

1.86)      1,490,259 

15.0 

11,587,629 

1.66 

19,265,973 

2 

1894 

1,493,086 

0.83 

1,240,895 

12.6 

11,879,679 

1.14 

13,577,325 

3 

1895 

2,199,390 

26  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

For  a  number  of  years  Michigan  has  held  the  first 
place  as  a  producer  of  iron  ore,  Minnesota  coming  up 
from  the  6th  place  in  1890  to  the  second  place  in  1894 
and  1895.  To  show  the.  disparity  between  the  States 
ranking  first,  second  and  third  since  1889,  we  need  only 
glance  at  the  following  list : 

Michigan.  Alabama.  Pennsylvania.        Minnesota. 

Tons  of  2,240  Ibs. 

1889  5,856,169  1,570,000        1,560]234 

1890  7,141,656  1,897,815        1,361,622 

1891  6,127,001  1,986,830        1,272,928 

1892  7,543,544  2,312,071  1,255,465 

1893  4,668,324  1,742,410  1,499,927 

1894  4,419,074  1.493,086  2,968,463 

Alabama  held  the  second  place  from  1889  till  1894, 
when  she  was  surpassed  by  Minnesota,  and  Pennsylvania 
the  third  place  until  1892  when  Minnesota  came  up  to 
the  second  place.  It  is  not  likely  that  the  relative  posi- 
tions will  be  changed  for  some  years.  The  immensity 
of  the  Mesabe  ore  deposits  and  the  cheapness  with  which 
they  are  mined  will,  perhaps,  keep  Minnesota  in  the 
second  place  for  the  next  decade,  if  indeed  she  does  not 
push  Michigan  for  first  place  within  that  time.  Mich- 
igan does  not  produce  much  pig  iron,  the  output  being 
91,222  tons  in  1895.  Minnesota  made  no  iron  in  1894, 
nor  in  1995.  The  difficulty  of  procuring  good  coke  at 
that  distance  from  the  coal  fields  has  hitherto  prevented 
these  States  from  converting  their  ore  into  iron,  and  the 
tendency  seems  to  be  more  and  more  to  reduce  the  cost 
of  these  ores  to  Illinois,  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  furnaces. 
But  it  is  a  wise  man  who  prophesies  concerning  the  iron 
trade  in  this  day  of  rapid  industrial  changes.  It  would 
appear,  however,  that  Alabama  will  have  to  face  compe- 
tition from  furnaces  much  nearer  than  Michigan  and 
Minnesota.  It  is  just  here  that  questions  of  transporta- 
tion play  the  really  vital  part.  So  long  as  the  rich  Lake 
ores  can  be  hauled  to  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  furnaces 


IRON  MAKING  IN   ALA  II  AM  A  ;  THE  ORES  I  27 

(iKXERAL   DISCUSSION. 

and  converted  into  pig  iron  which  can  be  sold  profitably 
for  half  a  cent  per  pound,  the  situation  in  Alabama  will 
be  one  in  which  the  cost  of  transporting  the  iron  to 
market  after  it  is  made  is  the  main  question.  With  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  furnaces  the  great  question  is  the 
cost  of  gathering  the  raw  materials  into  the  stockhouse. 
In  Alabama  the  great  question  is  the  cost  of  marketing 
the  pig  iron.  With  better  ore,  better  coke  and  better 
furnace  practice  it  may  be  possible  even  in  Alabama  to 
reduce  the  cost  of  making- iron,  but  the  transportation 
companies  will  control  the  situation  then  as  they  do  now, 
unless  a  closer  union  can  be  effected  between  the  two 
interests.  We  can  not  hope  to  avail  ourselves  of  water 
transportation  on  a  larger  scale,  as  is  done  in  the  case  of 
the  Lake  ores  to  Illinois,  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  ports. 
In  providing  cheap  ore,  cheap  coke  and  good  flux  within 
short  distances  of  each  other,  nature  seems  to  have 
thought  that  she  had  done  enough  for  Alabama,  and 
failed  to  provide  water-ways  for  conveying  the  product 
to  market ;  an  oversight  much  to  be  deplored,  indeed, 
but  to  be  accepted  with  becoming  fortitude.  - 

According  to  the  Cleveland  Iron  Trade  Review,  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  the  Lake  shipments  of  iron  ore  in  1892,  were 
8,545,313  tons  ;  in  1893,  5,836,749  tons  ;  in  1894, 7,621,620 
tons  ;  and  in  1895,  10,234,910  tons.  These  figures  mean 
that  considerably  more  than  half  of  the  total  amount  of 
iron  ore  mined  in  the  United  States  is  transported  by 
water  to  the  vicinity  of  the  furnaces  using  it.  Were  it 
not  for  this  fact  the  enormous  development  that  has  been 
reached  in  the  Lake  regions,  with  respect  to  the  mining 
of  iron  ore,  could  not  have  been  attained  within  so  short 
a  time,  if  at  all. 

In  order  to  exhibit  the  relation  that  Alabama  sustains 
to  the  other  iron  ore  producing  States, both  in  respect  to 
the  amount  mined  and  the  value,  the  following  table, 
taken  from  the  report  of  Mr.  John  Birkinbine  in  1895,  to 
the  U.  S.  Geol.  Survey,  Division  of  Mineral  Resources, 
is  appended. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF    ALABAMA. 


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IRON   MAKING    IX  ALABAMA  ;  THE  HEMATITE  ORES.       29 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  HEMATITE  ORES. 


In  the  discussion  of  the  hematite  ores  we  shall  have 
to  exclude  the  brown  hematites  as  they  properly  belong 
to  the  limonites,  although  often  mis-called  by  the  former 
name.  The  limonites  are  locally  termed  "brown  ores" 
and  the  output  is  about  25  per  cent,  of  the  total  ore  pro- 
duction of  the  State.  They  will  be  discussed  tinder  their 
proper  heading. 

The  hematite  ores  are,  for  convenience,  classed  under 
two  heads : 

First,  the  soft  red  ores,  carrying  but  little  lime  and 

Second,  the  "hard  red"  ores  carrying  from  12  to  20 
per  cent,  of  lime  and  in  many  cases  self-fluxing,  that  is, 
they  carry  enough  lime  to  flux  the  silica  contained  in 
them. 

In  order  that  a  clear  understanding  of  the  matter  may 
be  had  at  the  outset  the  following  brief  description  of 
the  geological  and  topographical  features  of  the  deposit 
of  hematite  ores  so  largely  used  in  the  State  is  given 
here. 

They  belong  to  the  Clinton  formation  of  the  Silurian, 
which  extends  with  some  breaks,  from  the  middle  por- 
tion of  Alabama  to  the  northern  part  of  Maine.  They  are 
overlaid  by  chert,  sandstones  and  clays,  the  overburden 
at  places  reaching  a  depth  of  forty  and  fifty  feet.  The 
seams  now  worked  vary  in  thickness  from  3  to  25  feet, 
run  in  a  north-east  direction  and  dip  towards  the  south- 
east at  angles  varying  from  15  to  22  degrees,  the  dip  in- 
creasing as  one  goes  towards  the  south-west.  For  the 
most  part  they  occupy  the  crests  of  the  hills,  the  outcrop 


30  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

forming  a  striking  and   persistent  feature  of  the   land- 
scape for  several  miles  in  the  vicinity  of  Birmingham. 
The  Soft  Ores. 

As  a  rule,  to  which,  however,  there  are  some  import- 
ant exceptions,  the  outcrop  is  ''soft  red,"  a  term  of  com- 
parative significance  as  the  ore  is  quite  firm  and  has  to 
be  won  by  regular  blasting  operations.  It  is  soft  as 
compared  with  the  limey  or  "hard  red"  ore.  The  soft 
ore  may  extend  from  the  outcrop  for  a  distance  of  300 
feet  on  the  dip,  depending  on  the  thickness  and  imper- 
viousness  of  the  cover  although  the  hard  ore  comes  to 
the  surface  at  more  than  one  place. 

In  winning  the  soft  red,  the  overburden  is  removed 
and  the  ore  mined,  at  day,  by  benches.  Under  cover 
the  ore  becomes  limey  and  hard  and  is  mined  from  in- 
clines on  the  dip  by  drifts  and  slopes. 

The  soft  ore  is  the  hard  ore  with  the  lime  removed  by 
atmospheric  influences  and  is  richer  in  iron  the  poorer 
it  is  in  lime.  When  the  overburden  is  stripped  off  there 
is  found  a  seam  of  ore  quite  soft  and  seemingly  disin- 
tegrated, of  a  deep  red  or  purple  color,  the  so-called 
''gouge."  It  may  be  only  a  few  inches  thick  but  often 
runs  to  24  and  even  36  inches,  and  comprises  generally 
the  best  part  of  the  ore.  Underneath  this  begins  the 
more  solid  ore  diminishing  in  content  of  iron  according 
to  the  vertical  depth.  The  best  quality  of  "gouge"  will 
carry  52  per  cent,  of  iron  while  ten  feet  below  its  line  of 
demarkation  the  iron  falls  to  about  46  per  cent.  Between 
the  "gouge"  and  the  ore  proper  there  is  often  a  thin  seam 
of  yellowish  clay,  which,  however,  is  by  no  means  con- 
stant in  strike.  In  the  more  solid  ore,  beneath  the 
"gouge"  there  are  seams  of  the  same  clay,  sometimes  as 
much  as  two  inches  thick  but  for  the  most  part  not  above 
half  an  inch  thick.  In  the  early  days  of  iron  making  in 
the  Birmingham  district  it  was  the  custom  to  mine  from 
1.2  to  20  feet  of  the  soft  ore  and  to  send  the  whole  mate- 


IRON   MAKING  IN  ALABAMA  ;  THE  HEMATITE  ORES.       31 

rial  to  the  furnace.  Of  late  years,  however,  the  raining 
has  been  restricted  to  ten  feet,  including  the  "gouge," 
as  it  was  found  that  below  this  depth  the  ore  rapidly  be- 
came siliceous  and  unfit  for  use.  Taking  the  content  of 
metallic  iron  in  the  " gouge"  at  fifty  per  cent,  as  mined, 
the  loss  in  iron  according  to  vertical  depth,  is  about  one- 
half  of  one  per  cent,  per  foot.  This  would  bring  the 
iron  in  the  first  ten  feet  of  the  seam  to  forty-five  per 
cent,  and  in  the  next  tan  feet  to  forty  per  cent.  A  large 
number  of  analyses  extending  over  several  years  show 
that  when  the  mining  is  limited  to  the  ten  foot  mark  the 
iron  content  is  a  little  over  47  per  cent,  in  the  ore  as 
mined,  i.  e.  with  seven  per  cent,  of  water,  and  including 
the  "gouge."  The  rapid  increase  of  the  silica  in  the 
ore  below  the  ten  foot  mark  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  to 
get  even  47  per  cent,  of  iron  in  the  upper  ten  feet  from 
one-fifth  to  one-third  of  it  must  be  composed  of  the 
"gouge,"  with  its  50  per  cent,  of  iron. 

In  Vol.  XV,  10th  U.  S.  Census,  Mr.  A.  A.  Blair  gives 
some  very  detailed  analyses  of  the  soft  red  ore  used  in 
the  Birmingham  district.  An  average  of  those  quoted 
is  herewith  given  : 

Dry  basis  % 

Silica 13.66 

Sulphur 0.11 

Phosphorus 0.43 

Alumina 6.13 

Lime 1.26 

Magnesia 0.37 

Manganese  protoxide 0.30 

Iron  protoxide 0.32 

Iron  peroxide 75.05 

Carbonic  acid 0.08 

Carbon  in  carbonaceous  matter 0.03 

Water  of  composition 1.62 

99.36 

Metallic  iron,  52.87  per  cent. 
Specific  gravity  4. 


32  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

This  average  shows  a  greater  amount  of  alumina,  and 
metallic  iron,  and  much  less  silioa  than  is  usually  the 
case  with  this  class  of  ore. 

An  average  analysis  of  stock  house  samples  shows  : 

Dry. 

Iron 47.24 50.80 

Silica 17.20 18.50 

Alumina 3.35 3.60 

Lime 1.12 1.20 

Water 7.00 

For  practical  purposes  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  so  fully 
into  detail  and  it  is  customary  to  determine  merely  the 
insoluble  matter  and  the  iron.  With  a  few  ores  of  this 
class,  which  carry  unusual  amounts  of  alumina  this  in- 
gredient is  also  determined.  But  for  every  day  practice 
and  with  slags  of  33  to  36  per  cent,  silica  the  alumina  is 
considered  as  silica  and  reported  with  it  as  "insoluble." 
It  is  a  fortunate  circumstance  that  the  soft  red  ores, 
when  finely  ground,  yield  their  iron  to  acid  solution 
without  fusion,  the  insoluble  residue  being  of  a  creamy 
white  appearance  and  carry  ing*  seldom  more  than  0.20 
per  cent,  of  iron.  For  blast  furnace  purposes  and  where 
the  ore  is  not  sold  on  the  unit  system  the  easy  solubility 
of  the  ore  is  a  point  of  great  importance,  especially  when 
many  analyses  must  be  made  within  a  short  time.  About 
one-half  of  the  alumina  present  goes  into  solution  with 
the  iron  but  may  be  neglected  under  the  conditions  that 
obtain  in  the  district  with  respect  to  the  variation  in  the 
composition  of  the  cinder.  In  calculating  furnace  bur- 
dens the  error  arising  from  neglecting  the  alumina  and 
reckoning  it  as  silica  is  comparatively  slight,  as  the  ratio 
between  the  silica  and  the  alumina  is  as  1  to  0.87. 

The  insoluble  matter  in  most  of  the  soft  red  ore  as 
used  in  the  state  is  23  per  cent. ,  and  the  iron  46  per 
cent.,  with  water  at  7  per  cent.  The  ordinary  ratio  be- 


IRON  MAKIXd    IN  ALABAMA  J   THE  HEMATITE    ORES.       33 

tween  the  metallic  iron  and  the  insoluble  matter  varies 
from  1  to  1.50  to  1 :2.     To  illustrate  : 
Water  1%. 
Insoluble 
Iron.  Matter. 

40 35.0(M 

41 33.00 

42 31.00 

43 29.00  , 

44 27.00  j      the  Insoluble  Matter 

45 25.00  I      falls  2  per  cent. 

46 23.00J 

47 22.00^| 

48 20.50 

49 19.00  I  For   each    1    per  cent. 

50 17.50  I      increase  in  the  Iron 


For   each    1    per   cent, 
increase  in   the  Iron 


51 16.00 

52 14.50 

53 13.00 

54..  .11.50 


the  Insoluble  Matter 
falls  1.50  per  cent. 


It  is  not  necessary  to  carry  the  list  further,  as  the  sup- 
ply of  fifty-four  per  cent,  soft  red  ore  is  limited.  It  is 
not  claimed  that  this  ratio  is  absolutely  correct,  but  a 
large  number  of  analyses  substantiate  its  reliability  for 
ordinary  purposes.  The  ratio  from  40  iron  through  46 
iron  is  as  1:2.  Beginning  with  iron  47  and  insoluble 
22,  the  ratio  appears  to  be  nearer  1 :1.50  than  1 :2,  for 
with  iron  48  the  insoluble  matter  is  about  20.50.  It 
may,  therefore,  be  said  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy 
that  a  soft  red  ore  carrying  40  per  cent,  of  iron  may  be 
expected  to  contain  35  per  cent.,  one  with  45  per  cent, 
of  iron  25  per  cent.,  and  one  with  50  per  cent,  of  iron 
17.50  per  cent,  of  insoluble  matter.  There  are,  of  course, 
exceptions  to  this  rule  and  it  does  some  times  occur  that 
an  ore  with  46  per  cent,  of  iron  will  be  found  to  carry 
22  per  cent,  and  one  with  48  per  cent,  of  iron 
will  have  21  or  22  per  cent,  of  insoluble  matter. 
3 


34  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

But  on  the  whole  the  fact  remains  that  an  ore  with  45 
per  cent,  of  iron  will  carry  25  per  cent,  of  insoluble,  and 
one  with  50  per  cent,  of  iron  from  17  to  18  -per  cent., 
and  the  list  may  be  used  as  an  approximation  to  the 
truth. 

In  texture  the  soft  red  ore  is  a  mass  of  minute  silic- 
eous pebbles  held  in  a  ferruginous  cement.  The  pebbles 
are  seldom  larger  than  a  No.  4  shot,  and  are  frequently 
much  smaller.  They  are  all  more  or  less  rounded  and 
stained  reddish-brown.  The  cementing  material  is  softer 
than  the  pebbles,  and  on  sizing  even  a  very  lean  ore  the 
material  passing  a  screen  of  fifty  meshes  per  linear  inch 
is  much  richer  in  iron  than  the  material  remaining  on  a 
10  or  a  20  mesh  screen.  A  soft  red  ore  of  40  per  cent, 
iron,  on  being  ground  to  pass  a  ten  mesh  screen,  will 
yield  through  a  fifty  mesh  53  per  cent,  of  iron. 

So  far  as  concerns  their  physical  structure,  this  is  one 
of  the  points  of  differentiation  between  the  soft  red  and 
the  so-called  brown  ores,  for  these,  on  being  sized,  show 
a  steady  loss  of  iron  the  finer  the  screen.  The  fact  of 
increasing  richness  in  iron  the  finer  the  screen  renders 
the  concentration  of  the  low  grade  soft  red  ores  much 
simpler  than  would  otherwise  be  the  case,  as  the  "fines" 
can  be  briquetted  without  further  treatment,  and  the 
troublesome  question  of  handling  them  becomes  com- 
paratively easy.  The  rounded  form  of  the  more  siliceous 
pebbles  also  occasions  ]ess  wear  on  the  shutes,  screens 
and  conveyors,  a  point  of  no  little  moment  in  concen- 
trating works. 

The  better  grades  of  the  soft  red  ore  do  not  occur  at 
every  point  on  Red  Mountain,  nor  is  it  possible  to  mine 
even  ten  feet  profitably  everywhere  along  the  ridge.  It  is 
frequently  the  case  that  the  inferior  ore  sets  in,  as  the 
saying  is,  "at  the  grass  roots,"  and  even  the  richer 
"gouge"  is  sometimes  absent.  Mining  operations  can 
not  be  undertaken  without  careful  prospecting  and  many 


IRON   MAKING   IN  ALABAMA  ;  THE  HEMATITE  ORES.       35 

analyses,  for  the  difference  between  a  fairly  good  ore  and 
one  that  is  not  passable  is  often  so  slight  as  to  deceive 
eren  the  most  experienced  man  who  grades  merely  by 
the  eye.  After  having  become  accustomed  to  a  partic- 
ular kind  of  ore,  one  may  judge  of  its  quality  by  the  ap- 
pearance with  a  reasonable  degree  of  accuracy.  While 
lor  the  most  part  the  soft  ores  are  of  the  same  general 
texture  and  color,  it  riot'  infrequently  happens  that 
serious  mistakes  may  be  made1  unless  the  services  of  a 
chemist  are  called  into  requisition .  When  freshly  mined 
the  ore  is  of  a  deep  red  color,  inclining  to  purplish  red 
in  the  richer  portions,  but  on  drying  there  is  assumed 
something  of  a  brownish  tint.  For  ordinary  stockhouse 
delivery  the  ore  contains  on  the  average  7  per  cent,  of 
hygroscopic  water,  which,  owing  to  the  coarse-grained 
nature,  soon  dries  out  under  cover. 

In  the  early  days  of  iron  making  in  the  Birmingham 
district,  before  the  real  value  of  the  limey  or  hard  ores 
ivas  generally  accepted,  the  furnace  burden  was  com- 
posed almost  entirely  of  the  soft  ores.  Of  late  years, 
however,  the  tendency  is  decidedly  towards  a  greater  and 
greater  proportion  of  the  limey  ore,  the  proportion  rising 
at  times  to  above  90  per  cent,  of  the  ore  burden.  It  is 
still  to  some  extent  a  mooted  question  as  to  the  relative 
jeducibility  of  the  two  ores,  but  a  careful  investigation 
of  the  subject  would,  we  think,  show  that  in  this  respect 
the  limey  ore  has  the  advantage.  When  the  soft  ore 
descends  into  the  zone  of  reduction  in  the  furnace,  it 
does  so  without  losing  its  firmness  of  texture.  Even 
after  it  has  become  red  hot,  or  white  hot,  it  maintains 
its  shape,  except  as  this  may  be  changed  by  friction 
during  the  descent.  The  reducing  gases  act  upon  it  in 
the  lump,  and  if  the  lumps  be  of  considerable  size  the 
reduction  to  metallic  iron  may  be  delayed  and  the  ore 
may  appear  before  the  tuyeres. 

The  case  is  quite  otherwise  with  the  limey  ore.     The 


36  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

lime  is  present  as  carbonate,  (except  such  as  may  be 
combined  with  the  prosphorus  as  phosphate  of  lime,  an 
amount  rarely  exceeding  0.50%,.)  and  when  this  reaches 
a  point  in  the  furnace  at  which  its  carbonic  acid  begins 
to  come  off,  the  ore  begins  to  fall  to  pieces.  The  friction 
of  the  other  materials  aids  this  tendency  quite  as  much 
as,  and  perhaps,  more  than  in  the  case  of  the  soft  ore. 
The  reducing  gases  can  and  do  have  a  greater  ore  sur- 
face to  work  on  and  the  result  is  that  for  a  given  weight 
of  coke  and  a  given  composition  of  the  gas  there  is 
greater  reducing  action.  The  soft  ore  is  more  fusible 
than  the  lime  ore,  but  this  does  not  necessarily  mean 
that  it  is  more  easily  penetrated  by  the  reducing  gases 
within  the  furnace.  On  the  contrary  a  fused  crust  on 
the  outside  of  a  piece  of  soft  ore  interposes  considerable 
opposition  to  the  passage  of  the  gases,  and  as  this  crust 
becomes  thicker  and  thicker  the  gases  penetrate  with 
more  and  more  difficulty.  In  the  case  of  the  lime  ore  as  soon 
as  it  begins  to  part  with  its  carbonic  acid  it  begins  to  dis- 
integrate, and  this  very  fact  of  disintegration  enables  it 
to  receive  to  better  advantage  the  reducing  power  of  the 
gases. 

In  comparing  the  two  ores  another  circumstance  must 
not  be  lost  sight  of ,  and  that  is  the  intimate  comming- 
ling of  the  ore  and  the  lime  that  is  to  flux  it.  This  is  a 
distinguishing  characteristic  of  the  lime  ores.  It  would 
be  impracticable  to  effect  by  artificial  means  such  an  in- 
timate mixture  of  ore  and  lime  as  Nature  has  already 
provided  in  these  ores.  This  circumstance  is  of  the 
greatest  importance  in  any  discussion  of  the  relative 
value  of  the  soft  and  the  lime  ores,  for  while  these  latter 
require  a  higher  heat  for  fusion  they  are  not  therefore  to 
be  considered  less  easily  reducible. 

The  reducibility  of  an  ore  depends  far  more  upon  its 
permeability  or  porosity  than  upon  its  fusing  point.  For 
the  most  part  the  loss  of  energy  in  a  furnace  is  chargea- 


IRON   MAKINc;    IX   ALAUAMAJ   THE   HEMATITE  ORES.       37 

ble  to  lack  of  reducing  power  rather  than  to  lack  of  fus- 
ing power. 

The  tendency  now  is  more  and  more  towards  the  use 
of  the  limey  ores  ;  for  the  enormous  demand  that  has  been 
made  on  the  better  quality  of  the  soft  ore  within  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  Birmingham  is  beginning  to  make 
itself  felt, 

Three  courses  of  action  may  be  open  :  First,  the  in- 
creasing proportion  of  limey  ore  in  the  burden  may  in- 
duce the  furnacemen  to  look  towards  the  use  of  eighty 
or  ninety  per  cent,  of  it,  the  difference  being  made  up 
with  soft  and  brown  ore.  Second,  other  sources  of  soft 
ore  may  be  utilized.  Third,  the  lower  grades  of  the  soft 
ore.  now  remaining  in  the  ground,  may  be  concentrated 
and  made  to  take  the  place  of  the  ore  that  has  been  re- 
moved. It  is  not  thought  that  the  proportion  of  brown 
ore  used  will  be  materially  increased. 

Under  the  existing  conditions  it  would  appear  advisa- 
Me  to"  begin  at  once  to  increase  the  proportion  of  limey 
ore  used,  so  as  to  establish  on  the  basis  of  wider  experi- 
ence the  economic  relation  that  this  burden  would  sus- 
tain to  former  practice,  or  to  push  the  work  of  concen- 
trating the  lower  grades  of  soft  ore  to  some  definite  re- 
sult. 

The  experiments  on  concentrating  soft  ore,  to  which 
some  allusion  has  already  been  made,  showed  the  possi- 
bility of  taking  an  ore  of  40  %  iron  and  35  %  silica  and 
bringing  the  ore  to  57  %  and  the  silica  to  15  %  ,  on  the 
average.  In  this  process  two  tons  of  raw  ore  were  re- 
quired to  make  one  ton  of  concentrates.  Up  to  this 
time  200  tons  of  concentrates  have  been  made  and  the 
experiments  are  still  in  progress.  Results  so  far  reach- 
ed indicate  that  under  proper  conditions  the  cost  of  one 
ton  of  concentrates  of  the  above  given  composition  would 
approximate  $1.00,  putting  the  raw  ore  at  30  cents  per 
ton  at  the  works. 


38  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

The  process  was  described  by  the  writer  in  a  paper 
read  before  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers 
at  Atlanta,  Ga.  October,  1895.  Since  thai 
time  much  additional  information  has  been  gathered 
concerning  it.  In  brief  the  process  is  to  magnetize  this 
ore  by  heating  it  to  redness  in  a  suitably  constructed 
kiln  and  passing  producer  gas  over  it.  In  this  manner 
the  ferrice  oxide  is  converted  into  magnetic  oxide  and 
by  crushing  the  ore,  screening  and  treating  over  a  mag- 
netic separator  the  more  siliceous  material  is  eliminated. 
The  richer  portion  of  the  ore  thus  improved  carries 
nearly  60%  of  iron  with  11%  of  silica.  The  ore  treated 
in  this  manner  can  be  sent  to  the  furnace  direct  or  made 
into  briquettes  or  eggettes  with  tar  or  other  binding 
material.  If  sent  direct  to  the  furnace  it  would  be  of 
such  fineness  as  to  pass  a  screen  of  ten  meshes  per 
linear  inch,  about  25%  by  weight' passing  a  forty  mesh 
screen.  In  respect  to  its  fineness,  therefore,  it  would 
be  coarser  than  a  great  deal  of  the  Mesabe  ore  now  con- 
sumed in  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  furnaces,  while  in  con- 
tent of  iron  it  would,  on  the  average,  carry  about  five 
per  cent,  less  than  this  Mesabe  ore.  The  soft  ore  as 
now  used  carries  about  47%  of  iron,  and  the  Mesabe  ore 
from  62%  to  64%.  Several  hundred  thousand  tons  of 
low  grade  soft  ore  are  now  uncovered  in  the  Birming- 
ham district,  forming  that  portion  of  the  big  seam  from 
which  the  upper  ten  feet  have  been  removed  and  carry- 
ing about  39%  of  iron.  It  is  easily  and  cheaply  rained 
and  lends  itself  very  well  to  concentration.  This  is*  the 
ore  which  should  take  the  place  of  the  soft  ore  now  be- 
ing mined  and  it  is  much  to  be  hoped  that  the  work  al- 
ready taken  in  hand  in  respect  to  it  will  be  carried  to 
completion.  The  importance  of  the  matter  is  assuredly 
great  enough  to  warrant  the  expense  required.  There 
is  no  doubt  at  all  of  the  possibility  of  concentrating  this 
ore  and  no  doubt  of  the  value  of  the  product  to  the  fur- 


IRON  MAKING  IN  ALABAMA  ;  THE  HEMATITE  ORES.       39 

nace.  The  successful  prosecution  of  this  business 
would  bring  into  use  very  large  amounts  of  ore  that  can 
not  be  used  unless  concentrated  and  would  prolong  the 
life  of  the  soft  ore  for  many  years. 

The  possibility  of  concentrating  this  ore  magnetically , 
without  previous  magnetization,  is  now  under  consider- 
ation, and  the  results  reached  are  of  the  most  encourag- 
ing character. 

The  Limey ,  or  so-called  Hard  Ore. 

The  ore  sets  in  sometimes  at  the  outcrop  but  much 
more  frequently  it  is  found  only  under  cover  and  is  the 
continuation  of  the  soft  ore  in  the  direction  of  the  dip. 
For  distances  varying  from  nothing  to  300  feet  on  the 
dip  the  ore  is  soft,  then  the  hard  ore  begins  and  con- 
tinues to  depths  not  yet  ascertained  but  certainly  very 
considerable.  In  other  words,  as  has  been  already  stat- 
ed, the  hard  ore  which  originally  appeared  at  the  sur- 
face has  been  deprived  of  its  carbonic  acid  by  atmos- 
pheric influences  and  converted  into  soft  ore  along  the 
dip  to  varying  depths  the  lime  having  been  removed  by 
bleaching.  Relatively  the  same  differences  that  are  to  be 
observed  in  the  soft  ore  from  various  places  are  also  found 
in  the  hard  ores.  There  are  points  along  the  mountain 
where  the  minable  seam  of  soft  ore  is  better  than  at  others, 
and  there  are  places  where  the  hard  ore  is  better  than 
at  others. 

On  a  vertical  section  of  the  soft  ore  the  content  in 
iron  decreases  downward,  the  rate  being  about  one-half 
of  one  per  cent,  per  foot.  The  rule  holds  good  for  the 
hard  ore  on  a  vertical  section.  The  mining  on  the  big 
seam  of  soft  ore  is  now  confined  for  the  most  part  to  the 
upper  ten  feet,  the  mining  on  the  hard  ore  is  also 
the  same,  and  below  the  ten  foot  mark  the  hard  ore  also 
becomes  too  siliceous  for  economic  use.  The  hard  ore 
derives  its  value  from  two  circumstances,  first  there  is  a 


40  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

great  deal  more  of  it  than  of  the  soft  ore,  because  it  ex- 
tends to  very  considerable  depths,  and  second  because  of 
the  intimate  admixture  of  carbonate  of  lime  with  the 
ferruginous  material.  The  best  hard  ore  carries  more 
lime  than  is  required  to  flux  its  silica  while  in  the  ordi- 
nary grades  the  ratio  of  one  of  silica  to  one  of  lime  is 
generally  conserved .  When  this  is  the  case  the  ore  is 
termed  "self  fluxing"  and  in  burdening  a  furnace  ex- 
clusively with  hard  ore  of  this  type  it  is  not  necessary  to 
add  limestone.  When  the  burden  is  composed  of  hard 
and  soft  ore,  or  of  hard  and  brown,  or  of  hard,  soft  and 
brown  the  amount  of  limestone  to  be  added  is  calculated 
from  the  silica  of  the  ore  other  than  hard,  the  silica  of 
the  fuel  and  of  the  stone  itself.  The  increase  in  the  use 
oT  hard  ore  would  tend  to  diminish  the  consumption  of 
limestone  by  an  amount  represented  by  the  limestone  in 
the  ore  and  if  a  strictly  self-fluxing  ore  were  used  the 
consumption  of  limestone  would  be  greatly  diminished. 
There  is  a  kind  of  hard  ore,  termed  semi-hard,  which 
contains  from  one-third  to  onerhalf  of  the  lime  in  a  typi- 
cal hard  ore,  but  of  this  sort  very  little  is  used  and  it  is 
not  mined  regularly. 

Within  the  last  two  years  the  use  of  crushed  hard  ore 
has  become  quite  common  in  the  Birmingham  district. 
The  soft  ore  does  not  lend  itself  readily  to  crushing  un- 
less thoroughly  dry.  With  the  amount  of  water  it  usual- 
ly contains  it  becomes  somewhat  like  clay  in  the  crush- 
er, i.  e.  more  or  less  gummy,  and  the  machine  soon  be- 
come choked.  ^ 

A  general  average  of  the  hard  ore  used  shows  : 

PER  CENT. 

Water 0.50 

Metallic  Iron 37.00 

Silica 13.44 

Lime 16.20 

Alumina.  ,  .3.18 


IRON   MAKIXC;   IX  ALABAMA  J  THE    HEMATITE  ORES.        41 

Phosphorus 0.37 

Sulphur 0.07 

<  'urbonic  acid. .  .  .• 12.24 

Adding  the  alumina  and  the  silica  together  we  have 
for  silica  x  alumina  16.62$  ,  the  lime  is  16.20%,  and  the 
ore  may  be  termed  self-fluxing.  It  can  not  be  said  that 
all  of  the  hard  ore  used  is  self- fluxing,  as  some  of  it  con- 
tains 5$  more  of  lime  than  of  silica  x  alumina.  Taking 
a  general  average,  however,  of  analyses  of  all  kinds  of 
hard  ore  extending  over  several  years  this  ore  carries 
enough  lime  to  flux  the  silica  x  alumina.  It  may  be 
urged  that  aluminous  soft  ore  needs  silica  as  a  flux  for 
the  alumina,  and  this  is  indeed  true.  But  we  have  to 
flux  the  silicate  of  alumina  with  lime,  and  it  is  merely  a 
question  as  to  whether  all  the  bases  of  the  burden  shall 
be  calculated  as  lime,  and  all  the  acids  as  silica  or 
whether  we  shall  regard  the  silica  x  alumina  as  requir- 
ing so  much  lime.  In  either  case  the  type  of  slag  to  be 
made  has  to  be  considered,  and  for  any  one  type  the  two 
calculations  lead  to  the  same  result  so  far  as  concerns 
the  consumption  of  limestone  per  ton  of  iron. 

The  question  has  been  raised  as  to  whether  the  hard 
ore,  on  the  dip,  may  not  gradually  lose  its  content  of 
iron  and  become  a  more  and  more  ferruginous  limestone 
until  finally  the  iron  will  not  exceed  20  or  25  %  .  The 
matter  is  one  of  scientific  rather  than  practical  moment, 
and  some  information  has  been  collected.  Taking  the 
iron  in  the  soft  ore  at  47  %  at  the  outcrop,  and  in  the 
hard  ore  at  37  %  100  feet  on  the  dip  the  rate  of  decrease 
for  the  iron  would  be  one  per  cent,  per  hundred  feet. 
This  rate  seems  tq  be  maintained  at  some  localities,,  but 
at  others  it  varies  so  that  no  rule  can  be  given.  This 
comparison  is  between  the  soft  and  the  hard  ore.  When 
the  hard  ore  begins  it  maintains  a  fairly  uniform  conapo- 
sition  on  planes  extending  in  the  direction  of  the  dip. 


42  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

As  to  the  minimum  amount  of  iron  that  a  hard  ore 
can  carry  and  still  be  considered  an  ore,  opinions  may 
differ.  But  if  the  iron  in  the  hard  ore  should  fall  to 
25%,  the  lime  increasing  in  the  same  proportion,  it  is 
not  likely  that  it  could  be  used.  The  silica  and  alumina 
appear  to  remain  somewhat  stationary,  so  that  the  ques- 
tion would  be  whether  or  no  material  carrying  25  %  of 
iron,  from  16  to  20%  of  silica,  and  from  24  to  28%  of 
lime  can  be  profitably  used.  It  will  be  many  years, 
however,  before  this  question  will  arise,  and  it  is  not 
necessary  to  discuss  it  now.  It  is  bound  up  with  geo- 
logical and  topographical  considerations  which  are  still 
in  abeyance.  Some  work  has  been  done  in  the  direction 
of  improving  the  hard  ore  by  calcining  it  in  a  gas-fired 
kiln.  It  is  possible  in  this  way  to  remove  the  carbonic 
acid  entirely.  Taking  the  average  analysis  of  hard  ore 
as  given,  viz  : 

Iron 37.00 

Silica .  .13.44 

Alumina 3 .18 

Lime 16.20 

and  considering  all  of  the  lime  as  carbonate  except  0.50  % 
as  phosphate,  the  carbonic  acid  would  be  12.24.  Re- 
moving this  the  above  analysis  would  show  : 

Iron 42.15 

Silica 15.31 

Alumina 3 .62 

Lime J8.46 

The  ore  would,  of  course,  still  be  self-fluxing,  and  the 
question  would  be  whether  the  removal  of  the  carbonic 
acid  outside  of  the  furnace,  with  the  consequent  trans- 
formation of  the  carbonate  of  lime  into  caustic  lime, 
would  benefit  the  ore  more  than  it  would  cost. 

Without  entering  upon  any  lengthy  discussion,  as  the 
matter  has  not  yet  passed  the  experimental  stage,  we 


IRON  MAKING   IN  ALABAMA  ;  THE  HEMATIFE  ORES.       43 

may  regard  the  question  briefly,   from   a  physical  and  a 
chemical  standpoint. 

Physically  the  ore  would  become  more  porous  as  the 
expulsion  of  the  ^carbonic  acid  would,  ta  a  great  extent, 
destroy  its  compactness.  It  would  lose  in  weight,  but 
this  would  be  more  than  counter-balanced  by  the  gain 
in  the  per  centage  of  iron.  Its  increased  porosity  would 
allow  easier  penetration  for  the  reducing  gases  of  the 
furnace.  Against  this  may  be  placed  its  increased  fria- 
bility, and  the  consequent  production  of  a  greater  quan- 
tity of  fine  material  in  the  furnace.  Chemically,  we 
should  have  to  consider  the  effect  upon  the  combustible 
gases  of  the  introduction  of  caustic  lime  instead  of  car- 
bonate of  lime. 

The  carbonic  acid  has  to  be  removed  and  the  question 
narrows  down  to  a  single  consideration,  viz.  Is  there 
any  advantage  in  removing  it  outside  of  the  furnace? 
The  heat  within  the  furnace  removes  it  quite  as  effec- 
tively as  the  heat  of  a  kiln,  but  then  we  would  have  to 
weigh  the  effect  of  large  volumes  of  hot  carbonic  acid 
on  the  coke,  with  solution  of  carbon,  &c.  Cokes  differ 
markedly  in  this  respect,  and  each  one  has  to  be  exam- 
ined in  and  for  itself.  If  the  calcined  ore  is  charged 
direct  it  would  carry  a  considerable  amount  of  heat  into 
the  upper  part  of  the  furnace  and  it  would  be  more  diffi- 
cult to  maintain  a  cool  top.  This,  however,  need  hardly 
be  considered,  as  the  additional  temperature,  due  to 
charging  hot  material,  would  be  derived,  not  from  reac- 
tions within  the  furnace,  but  from  extraneous  sources. 
A  cool  top  under  ordinary  conditions  means  that  the  heat 
within  the  furnace  is  used  in  melting  the  stock,  and  is  not 
escaping  in  the  gases.  Bat  if  a  hot  top  is  due  to  extrane- 
ous heat,  such,  for  instance,  as  hot  material  charged, 
there  would  be  no  injurious  effect  upon  the  zone  of  fusion. 
It  might  be  advantageous  to  have  a  hot  top  if  the  heat 
was  not  derived  from  the  reactions  within  the  furnace, 


44  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

as  the  gases  to  be  consumed  under  the  boilers  and  in  the 
stoves  would  arrive  at.  the  burners  at  a  higher  tempera- 
ture. Aside  from  such  considerations,  however,  it  seems 
advisable  to  use  the  calcined  ore  direct.  Where  it  is 
stocked,  or  allowed  to  remain  even  for  twenty-four  hours 
in  the  air,  it  rapidly  takes  up  water  and  becomes  pasty. 
When  the  slacking  of  the  caustic  lime  is  completed  the 
material  appears  dry  but  in  reality  contains  not  only 
water  of  hydration  but  carbonic  acid  also.  When  the 
water  of  hydration  is  expelled  the  lime  becomes  pulver- 
ulent and  dusty,  blows,  about  in  every  breeze  and  is 
troublesome  to  both  bottom  and  top  fillers.  It  can  be 
dampened  with  water  from  a  hose-pipe,  of  course,  but  in 
that  case  the  mass  becomes  pasty,  and  the  stockhonse 
uncomfortable.  If  the  ore  is  not  used  direct,  (the  kiln 
being  in  immediate  proximity  to  the  furnace) ,  the  ad- 
vantages to  be  obtained  from  calcining  begin  to  disappear 
at  once,  and  continue  to  become  less  and  less  the  longer 
the  interval  between  calcination  and  charging. 


THE  LIMONITK.    <>R    -  D   P.RoWX  ORES.  45 


THE  LIMOXITE,  OR  SO-CALLED    BROWN  ORES. 

As  a  rule  these  ores  constitute  the  best  material  for 
mm  making  in  the  State.  Practically  all  of  the  charcoal 
iron  is  produced  from  this  class  of  ore,  and  although 
there  has  been  of  late  years  a  marked  decrease  in  the 
output  of  charcoal  iron,  following  the  general  tendency 
throughout  the  country  at  large,  the  total  amount  made 
from  1872  to  the  close  of  1895,  was  1,191,145  tons. 

The  yearly  amount  of  brown  ore  mined  is  about  25 
per  cent,  of  the  total  production  of  all  kinds  of  ore. 

The  deposits  do  not  occur  in  regular  seams  except  as 
the  gossan  of  underlying  pyritiferous  veins  which  fur- 
nish very  little  of  the  ore  used,  but  as  pockets  in  the  clay. 
These  pockets  are  of  greater  or  less  extent,  some  times 
going  down  to  75  or  100  feet,  or  even  deeper. 

They  do  not  appear  to  follow  any  known  rule  of  occur- 
rence, and  each  deposit  has  to  be  judged  by  itself  alone. 
It  is  a  common  saying  that  no  one  knows  much  about  a 
brown  ore  bank  beyond  the  length  of  his  pick.  To-day 
one  may  be  in  good  ore,  tomorrow  there  maybe  none  in 
sight,  and  to  know  which  way  to  turn  one  must  know 
the  particular  deposit  he  is  mining. 

The  ore  is  of  two  kinds,  lump,  and  gravel.  There  is 
no  rule  as  to  the  proportion  in  which  each  may  be  pres- 
ent, even  in  the  same  'bank. '  The  lump  ore  is  generally 
better  than  the  ordinary  gravel  ore  unless  this  latter  is 
carefully  washed  from  adhering  clay.  And  yet  it  often 
happens  that  the  presence  of  chert,  or  sandy  inclusions, 
in  the  lump  ore,  as  also  the  clay-filling  of  the  interstices 
and  small  holes,  makes  the  lump  ore  objectionable.  The 
lumps  vary  in  size  from  that  of  the  fist  to  large  masses 
of  several  tons  wtight. 


46  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

The  large  lumps  are  broken  by  hand,  if  of  unusual 
size  by  means  of  small  charges  of  dynamite,  and  loaded 
on  the  car  without  further  treatment.  By  far  the  greater 
amount  of  brown  ore  is  comprised  within  the  sizes  of  a 
pigeon's  egg  and  a  goose  egg. 

Excluding  the  large  lumps  the  method  of  mining  is 
briefly  as  follows  :  The  bank  is  cut  away  in  benches,  the 
entire  mass  being  taken  down  either  by  hand,  or 
steam-shovel.  The  stuff  is  loaded  on  trams  and  con- 
veyed to  ordinary  log-washers,  single  or  double  as  the 
case  may  be,  where  it  is  subjected  to  thorough  disinte- 
gration and  stirring  in  large  excess  of  running  water. 
The  clay  &c.  is  removed  by  suspension  in  water,  and  is 
run  into  settling  dams  for  the  recovery  of  the  water. 
The  heavier  particles  of  sand  are  screened  out  over  £  inch 
screens  revolving  in  a  mild  current  of  water,  and  the 
washed  ore  delivered  over  the  screens  into  the  railroad 
cars,  and  sent  to  the  furnaces.  Where  the  clay  holding 
the  gravel  is  friable,  and  does  not  'ball'  under  the  action 
of  the  washer,  and  where  abundance  of  water  can  be  se- 
cured, this  method  of  preparing  brown  ore  is  fairly  suc- 
cessful. There  is  great  variation  in  the  character  of  the 
clay,  some  of  it  being  easily  disintegrated  and  therefore 
yielding  its  ore  readily,  and  some  of  it  being  extremely 
tenacious  and  putty-like.  In  this  case  there  may  be  seri- 
ous loss  of  tke  finer  ore  particles,  the  balls  of  clay  pick- 
ing them  up,  enwrapping  them,  and  finally  carrying 
them  to  the  waste  dump. 

It  is  customary  at  some  establishments  to  remove  the 
clay  balls  by  hand,  boys  being  employed  for  the  purpose. 
Jigging  is  resorted  to  but  rarely,  the  results  not  war- 
ranting the  additional  expense. 

A  method  of  washing  that  has  given  good  satisfaction 
is  to  discharge  the  trams  from  the  'bank'  into  a  head- 
box  in  which  play  two  powerful  streams  of  water.  The 
lower  end  of  the  box,  which  is  of  triangular  shape  and  in- 


THE  LIMONITE,  OR  SO-CALLED  BROWN  ORES.  47 

clined  about  30  degrees,  opens  into  a"  long  wooden 
trough  lined  with  castings  of  iron  fitted  snugly  at  the 
bottom.  This  trough  in  turn  discharges  into  the  washer 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill. 

The  advantages  claimed  are  contact  of  the  material 
with  water  under  pressure,  and  the  better  separation  of 
ore  and  clay  from  the  tumbling  motion  down  the  trough. 
Even  the  tenacious  clays  may,  in  this  manner,  be  made 
to  yield  their  ore.  But  if  the  clay  be  extremely  tena- 
cious, as  is  sometimes  the  case,  even  this  mode  of  treat- 
ment fails  to  disintegrate  it.  In  fact  it  rather  tends  to 
increase  the  'balling'  by  carrying  the  material  down  an 
incline.  The  friable. and  easily  disintegrated  clays,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  speedily  removed  in  this  process,  and 
the  washer  is  called  upon  merely  to  complete  what  has 
been  already  pretty  well  done.  No  washing  system  can 
succeed  without  plenty  of  water,  and  unsparing  use  of  it. 
If  the  best  results  are  to  be  reached  there  must  be  no 
half-handed  and  mistaken  economy  in  the  consumption 
of  water,  and  as  a  large  part  of  the  water  used,  is  recov- 
ered in  settling  clams  the  loss  of  water  is  chargeable 
mostly  to  evaporation  and  seepage.  The  first  can  not 
be  prevented,  but  seepage  can  be  controlled  by  properly 
constructed  dams.. 

The  amount  of  material  moved  per  ton  of  ore  obtained 
varies  within  wide  limits.  It  may  be  1:1,  4:1,  or  10  : 1. 
Even  the  same  bank  shows  very  considerable  differences 
in  this  respect,  so  that  no  rule  can  be  given.  It  is  a 
matter  that  can  not  be  determined  before  hand,  and  is 
liable  to  change  from  day  to  day.  Variations  in  the 
composition  of  the  ore  from  the  same  bank,  while  ob- 
servable, (to  not,  as  a  rule,  offer  serious  obstacles  to  suc- 
cessful mining.  A  given  bank  is  apt  to  afford  ore  of  the 
:e  general  composition,  and  variations  in  the  compo- 
sition of  stock-house  samples  are  to  be  explained  by  in- 


48  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

sufficient  treatment  in  the  washer,  due  to  lack  of  water 
or  changes  in  the  nature  of  the  clay. 

Brown  ore  mining  is  attractive  because  of  the  higher 
price  paid  for  good  brown  ore,  but  should  be  entered 
upon  only  after  the  most  thorough  examination  of  all 
local  conditions. 

The  average  composition  of  the  brown  ore  of  the 
State,  stock-house  delivery,  is  as  follows  : 

DRY  BASIS. 

Metallic  Iron ..51.00 

Silica 9.00 

Alumina , 3 .75 

Lime 0.75 

Phosphorus 0.40 

Sulphur 0.10 

Tke  amount  of  water  it  contains  varies  according  to 
circumstances.  Thus,  if  the  washer  be  placed  at  a  short 
distance  from  the  furnace  the  water,  not  having  had 
time  to  drain  out,  is  more  than  if  the  haul  were  longer. 
So  also  if  the  ore  be  not  properly  washed  the  clay  retains 
water.  Under  a  haul  of  25  to  50  miles  the  ore,  samples 
from  the  cars  in  the  stock-house,  contains  on  the  aver- 
age 1%  of  hygroscopic  water.  Following  is  an  average 
analysis  of  a  good  quality  of  brown  ore  : 

Hygroscopic  water 7.00 

Combined  water 6.00 

Metallic  Iron 48.54 

Silica .  .11.22 

Alumina >.   3.61 

Lime 0 .84 

Phosphorus 0.38 

Sulphur 0.09 

Selected  brown  ore  may  carry  as  much  as  56%  of  iron, 
on  a  dry  basis,  and  at  one  establishment  the  ordinary 
ore  as  charged  carries  53  %  ,  after  washing  and  calcining. 


THE  LIMONITE,  OR  SO-CALLHD  BROWN  ORES.  49 

The  sale  of  brown  ore  on  analysis  has  become  the  cus- 
tom in  the  Birmingham  district  for  outside  ores. 
The  basis  of  sale  is  50$  of  Iron,  and  10$  of  insoluble 
matter,  or  silica,  as  the  case  may  be.  The  price  per  ton 
is  started,  let  us  say,  at  $1.00,  for  ore  carrying  50%  of 
Iron,  and  10$  of  Insoluble  matter.  Then  for  each  one 
per  cent,  above  50  %  5  cents  per  ton  is  added  to  the  price. 
If  the  Insoluble  matter  at  the  same  time  decreases  1  %  , 
being  9  %  instead  of  10  %  ,  2-J-  cents  per  ton  additional  is 
added.  An  ore  carrying  51  %  of  iron  and  9  %  of  insolu- 
ble matter  would  be  worth  $1.075  per  ton,  and  so  on. 
If,  on  the  contrary,  the  percentage  of  metallic  iron 
should  fall  to. 49$ ,  5  cents  per  ton  would  be  taken  off, 
and  if  at  the  same  time  the  insoluble  matter  should  rise 
to  11$,  2i  cents  per  ton  more  would  be  subtracted.  Thus 
an  ore  carrying  49$  of  iron  and  11$  of  insoluble  mat- 
ter would  be  worth  $0.925  per  ton.  The  starting  price 
is  not  always  the  same.  It  may  be  $1.00,  $1.05,  $1.10 
&c.  accord  ing  to  circumstances,  but  frhe  valuation  of  5 
cents  per  unit  of  iron,  and  2-J-  cents  per  unite  of  insolu- 
ble matter  is  generally  adopted.  In  this  scheme  no  ac- 
count is  taken  of  hygroscopic  or  combined  water,  or  of 
sulphur,  phosphorus  or  alumina. 

The  basis  of  valuation  is  the  amount  of  metallic  iron 
and  insoluble  matter.  The  ore  may  contain  5$,  or  10$ 
of  ordinary  water,  yet  no  account  is  taken  of  it.  It 
would  be  much  better  if  a  deduction  could  be  made  for 
all  water  above  a  certain  percentage,  although  the  con- 
dition of  the  weather,  as  in  the  case  of  heavy  rains  while 
the  ore  was  in  transit,  might  prevent  satisfactory  agree- 
ments. 

The  water  a  brown  ore  may  contain  is  a  small  matter 
compared  with  the  clay  it  may,  and  too  often  does,  con- 
tain. The  ordinary  water  is  easily  enough  evaporated 


50  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

in  the  upper  part  of  the  furnace,   but   the   clay   requires 
fuel  and  stone  for  its  removal. 

Well  washed  ore ,  free  from  clay ,  seldom  holds  more 
than  4%  of  water,  and  the  increase  in  the  amount  of  wa- 
ter follows  closely  upon  the  increase  in  the  amount  of 
clay. 

There  is  a  circumstance  in  connection  with  brown  ore 
that  merits  attention,  not  only  because  of  its  contradis- 
tinction to  the  soft  red  ore  but  also  and  particularly 
because  of  its  Bearing  upon  its  improvement,  whether 
by  simple  screening  or  by  some  magnetic  process.  It 
has  been  stated  that  even  the  lower  grades  of  soft  ore  on 
being  dried  and  crushed  yield  more  metallic  iron  in  the 
material  passing  a  50  mesh  screen  than  in  the  coarser 
stuff.  In  such  ores  there  is  a  marked  increase  in  the 
iron  the  finer  the  screen  up  to  and  including  a  50  mesh. 
This  is  not  true  of  the  brown  ore.  The  finer  the  screen, 
up  to  and  including  a  50  mesh,  the  poorer  in  iron  is  the 
material  passing  through. 

Not  only  have  laboratory  experiments  shown  this  but- 
actual  work  on  a  large  scale  has  substantiated  the  gen- 
eral truth  of  the  proposition  that  on  crushing  brown  ore, 
whether  by  machines,  or  by  the  attrition  of  ore  on  ore 
in  a  kiln  the  fine  stuff  carries  less  iron  than  the  coarse 
stuff.  Attention  is  drawn  to  this  matter  because  of  the 
custom  at  some  kilns  to  draw  the  ore  over  screens  into 
the  furnace-buggies.  There  is  considerable  loss  of  ma- 
terial in  this  practice,  and  it  is  not  to  be  recommended 
unless  the  ore  carries  an  unusual  amount  of  clay,  which, 
of  course,  is  removed  over  the  screens.  It  may  ftappen 
that  as  much  as  10  per  cent,  by  weight  is  lost,  even  over 
a  i  inch  screen .  Some  experiments  were  undertaken  to 
establish  the  actual  loss,  and  how  much  iron  was  present 
in  the  various  sizes  of  ore  from  a  kiln. 

Several  hundred  pounds  were  taken,  the  samples  be- 
ing drawn  over  several  days  and  put  together,  so  as  to 


THE  LIMOXITE,  OR  SO-CALLED  BROWN  ORES.  51 

represent  the  ore  fairly.     The  results  of  the  investigation 
were  as  follow.-  : 

Iron.  Silica. 

Raw  ore 44.63 13.82 

Calcined  ore 50.20 15.10 

Calcined  ore — 

On  i  inch  screen  (68  per  ct.) .  .  .  52.95 10.25 

Through  i  inch  screen  (32  per  ct.)  .  .  49.30 15.90 

On  I  inch  screen  (77  per  ct.)  .  .  .  52.75 11.05 

Through  1  inch  screen  (23  per  ct.)  . .  42.85 21.80 

It  can  not,  of  course,  be  said  that   all   brown  ores  act 
in  this  way,  but  the  ore  under  examination  fairly  repre- 
sented the  second  grade  brown,  and  it  is  likely  that  other 
of  the  same  class  would  give   results  comparable  to 
these. 

Screening  over  a  i  inch  screen   gave    68   per  cent,  on 
the  screen,  with,  say,  53  per  cent,   of  iron/  and   32  per 
cent,    through  the    screen  with  49.50  per  cent,  of   iron, 
ening  over  a  -J  inch   screen  gave  77  per  cent,  on  the 
jn  wkii    .VJ.75  per    cent,  of   iron,    and  23  per  cent, 
through  the  screen  with  42.85  per  cent,  of  iron.     Screen- 
ing can  not  be  recommended,,  except  for  clayey  ore,  and 
the  clay    should    be  removed  in    the  washer.     There  is 
practically  but  little  difference  between  the  'overs'  on  a 
:ch  and  i  inch  screen  in   respect  of  iron,  while  there 
is  a  difference  of  9  per  cent,  in  weight  in  favor   of   the 
coarser  screen.     The  loss  of  ore  through  either  screen  is 
too  large  for  profitable  work,  except  under  unusual  cir- 
cumstances requiring  the  use  of  the  best  ore  obtainable. 
Reference  has  been  made  to  the  fact  that  for  the  most 
part  the  brown  ores  are  washed   but    not   calcined.     In 
the  production  of  charcoal  iron  it  is  the  usual  custom  to 
wash  and  calcine,  but  as  the  consumption  of  brown  ore 
in    the  charcoal    furnaces  from  1890,  to   and   including 
~> — probably  did  not  exceed  7  per  cent,   of  the  total 
brown  ore  production  during  that  period  it  can   not  be 


52  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

said  that  calcining  is  commonly  practiced.  When  it  is 
carried  on  two  methods  are  used,  the  old  fashioned  open 
air  pile  fired  by  charcoal  ''breeze"  and  wood,  and  the 
new  fashioned  gas-fired  kiln  employing  producer-gas  as 
fuel.  The  former  method  needs  no  description.  When 
properly  managed  it  gives  fair  results,  but  can  not  be 
depended  an  to  furnish  uniformly  calcined  ore.  Even, 
with  careful  attention  a  part  of  the  ore  will  not  be  cal- 
cined at  all,  part  will  be  calcined  properly,  and  part  will 
be  louped.  The  most  curious  mis-statements  are  some- 
times made  in  reference  to  calcining  brown  ore,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  idea,  prevalent  among  some  who  ought 
to  know  better,  that  brown  ore  is  termed  limonite  be- 
cause it  contains  considerable  quantities  of  lime. 

In  the  hearing  of  the  writer,  the  general  manager  of 
an  iron  company  stated  to  a  party  of  capitalists  who 
were  examing  the  property,  that  on  calcining  the  ore  in 
open  piles  the  chert  would  pop  out,  and  leave  the  ore 
pure.  Brown  ore,  he  went  on  to  say,  was  most  peculiar 
in  that  respect.  It  might  contain  a  good  deal  of  chert, 
but  when  it  was  lieated  the  chert  would  spring  away 
from  the  ore,  and  it  was  dangerous  to  stand  near  the  pile. 
They  all  moved  back,  and  the  orator  proceeded  !  The 
method  of  improving  cherty  brown  ore  by  popping  the 
chert  out  may  be  patentable,  but  is  not  in  use  in  this 
State,  or  elsewhere.  Attention  is  being  drawn  more  and 
more  to  calcining  in  gas-fired  kilns,  and  of  the  various 
kinds  the  Davis-Colby  is  preferred.  In  this  kiln  the 
current  of  heated  gas  and  flame  is  drawn  across  the  ore 
as  it  descends  between  the  outer  walls  of  the  combustion 
chamber  and  a  central  space  connected  with  the  stack. 
The  kiln  is  built  of  any  convenient  size,  from  100  to  150 
tons  capacity,  and  is  fired  with  producer  gas. 

Allowing  7  per  cent,  of  hygroscopic  water,  removable 
at  212  deg.  F.,  and  7  per  cent  of  combined  water,  remov- 
able only  at  red  heat,  a  kiln  holding  125-140  tons  of  raw 


THE  LIMOXITE,   OR  SO-CALLED  BROWN  ORES.  55 

ore  will  deliver  from  107  to  120  tons  of  thoroughly  and 
uniformly  calcined  ore  per  24  hours,  with  a  consumption 
of  2J  to  3  tons  of  coal.  To  calcine  one  ton  of  raw  ore 
(2240  Ibs.)  requires  about  52  Ibs.  of  coal 

The  advantages  of  the  gas-fired  kiln  are  economy  of 
labor,  and  uniformity  of  product.  These  advantages 
maintain  under  all  conditions,  except  where  the  price  of 
coal  is  prohibitory,  and  even  there  the  wood-fired  or 
charcoal-fired  producer  may  be  used. 

The  use  of  all  brown  ore  in  coke  furnaces  may  be  ren- 
dered necessary  by  contracts  specifying  chat  the  iron 
shall  be  made  from  brown  ore,  or  by  proximity  to  de- 
posits known  to  be  very  considerable.  A  determination 
on  the  part  of  furnace  owners  to  make  a  special  higfe. 
grade  charcoal  iron  would  also  entail  the  exclusive  use 
of  brown  ore. 

A  kiln  to  treat  140  tons  of  raw  ore  per  day,  with  pro- 
ducer and  all  necessary  fittings,  will  cost  about  $7,000, 
and  will  yield  ordinarily  about  120  tons  of  calcined  ore. 
This  amount  would  contain  from  60  to  65  tons  of  iron, 
and  would  be  equivalent  to  20  per  cent,  of  the  ore  bur- 
den for  2  150  ton  furnaces. 

The  freight  on  a  ton  of  raw  ore  from  the  washer  to  the 
furnace  may  be  taken  at  25  cts.  in  the  Birmingham  dis- 
trict, and  if  the  ore  averages  47  per  cent,  of  iron  we 
would  have  1952.8  Ibs.  of  iron  costing  for  freight  25  cts. 

The  freight  on  a  ton  of  calcined  ore  would  also  be  25 
cents,  but  it  would  contain  54  per  cent,  of  iron,  or  in  the 
ton  1209.6  Ibs.  of  iron.  So  far,  therefore,  as  concerns 
the  transportation  charges  we  would  get  1209.6  Ibs.  of 
iron  in  the  calcined  ore  at  the  same  price  paid  for  1052.8 
Ibs.  in  the  raw  ore.  Each  ton  of  calcined  ore  delivered 
at  the  furnace  would  contain  156.8  Ibs.  of  iron  more  than 
a  ton  of  raw  ore.  If  it  requires  4  men  in  the  stockhouse, 
as  bottom-fillers,  to  handle  140  tons  of  raw  ore  per  day, 
containing  65.8  tons  of  iron,  3  men  could  handle  the 


54  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

121.7  tons  of  calcined  ore  required  for  the  same  amount 
of  metal.  So  far  as  concerns  the  handling  of  the  ore  in 
the  stockhouse  there  would  be  a  saving  of  one  man  at 
each  furnace  by  substituting  calcined  ore  for  raw  ore. 

The  economy  becomes  even  more  striking  if  we  con- 
sider the^kiln  as  situated  at  the  furnace,  so  that  the  bot- 
tom-fillers could  draw  the  ore  from  the  shutes.  At  one 
well  managed  plant  this  has  been  the  practice  for  several 
years.  The  trams  come  in  from  the  washer  and  dis- 
charge into  the  kiln.  The  bottom-fillers  draw  from  the 
shutes  into  the  buggies,  and  the  hot  one  goes  at  once  to 
the  furnace.  At  this  establishment  it  has  been  shown 
that  there  is  great  advantage  in  the  use  of  calcined  ore, 
irrespective  of  the  easy  way  of  handling  it  in  use,  and 
it  fortunately  happens  that  it  is  able  to  compare,  for  a 
term  of  years,  the  practice  on  raw  ore,  pile-calcined, 
and  kiln-calcined  ore. 

It  is  not  going  too  far  to  say  that  it  would  be  profitable 
to  erect  kilns  at  the  furnaces,  even  when  the  ore  has  to 
be  hauled  at  a  freight  cost  of  25  cts.  per  ton,  or  even 
more. 

Excessive  freight  charges  on  ore  would,  of  course, 
militate  against  this  proposition,  but  until  they  rise  be- 
yond 40  cts.  per  ton  calcining  would  be  advantageous. 

The  erection  of  kilns  at  the  mines,  except  under  unus- 
ual conditions,  can  not  be  recommended,  for  the  reason 
that  the  life  of  a  brown  ore  deposit  is  uncertain. 

But  at  the  furnace,  and  especially  where  coke  is,  made 
on  the  spot  and  it  is  possible  to  calcine  with  waste  gases 
from  the  ovens,  this  objection  is  removed.  The  furnace 
operator  would  be  able  to  buy  ore  from  the  smaller  mines 
which  can  not  incur  the  expense  of  building  kilns,  the 
entire  process  would  be  under  one  management,  and  the 
utilization  of  gases  now  going  to  waste  would,  of  itself, 
show  a  profit. 

It  is  a  truth  of  general  application  that  it  pays  to  cal- 


THE  LIMONITE,  OR  SO-CALLED  BROWN  ORES.  55 

cine  brown  ore,  for  it  has  been  shown  to  be  beneficial 
wherever  it  has  been  carefully  and  faithfully  carried  out. 


MILL  CINDER. 

Another  material  used  in  the  Birmingham  district,  as 
a  source  of  iron,  is  mill  cinder. 

It  is  a  product  from  puddling  furnaces,  and  is  worth 

:  90  cents  to  $1.00  a  ton,  delivered. 
The  composition  varies   somewhat,  as  the  following 
analyses  show  : 

Equal  parts,  by  weight,  of  heating  furnace  and  puddle 
cinder  ;  metallic  iron,  56.59  per  cent. 

Kqiml  parts,  by  weight,  of  cinder  made  with  coal, 
cinder  made  with  gas,  and  puddle  cinder;  metallic  iron 
51.33  per  cent. 

Equal  parts,  by  weight,  of  flue  and  tap  cinder;  me- 
tallic iron,  50.08  per  cent. 

The  average  composition  of  ordinary  mill  cinder  is 
about  as  follows  : 

Per  cent. 

Metallic  iron 5D.OO 

Silica .- 20.00 

Alumina 1.50 

Lime 0.50 

Sulphur 1.50 

Phosphorus 0.60 

It  is  not  used  regularly,  but  in  broken  doses,  as  a 
" scouring  material." 


BLUE  BILLY',  PURPLE  ORE. 

Residue  from  pyrite   burners  in  sulphuric  acid  works, 


56  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

This  material  is  occasionally  used,  being  purchased 
from  the  sulphuric  acid  factories  in  Atlanta,  Pensacola, 
<fee.  It  carries  generally  more  than  60  per  cent,  of  iron, 
but  the  content  of  smlphur  is  quite  variable  and  may  be 
as  much  as  2.50  per  cent.  Properly  roasted,  i.  e.,  with 
sulphur  below  0.50  per  cent.,  it  would  commend  itself  as 
a  source  of  iron. 


THE  FLUXES.  57 


CHAPTER  III. 


THE  FLUXES. 

The  material  used  for  flux  in  the  state  is  either  lime- 
stone, dolomite,  or  a  mixture  of  the  two  in  varying  pro- 
portions. It  is  now  very  largely  sold  on  analysis,  sam- 
ples being  drawn  from  each  car  received.  The  basis  of 
sale  is  the  percentage  of  silica,  some  of  the  contracts 
starting  at  2.50  per  cent,  and  others  at  3.50  per  cent. 
When  the  stone  is  sold  on  analysis  it  is  customary  to 
employ  a  sliding  scale,  as  has  already  been  explained 
under  the  brown  ore.  Suppose  the  base  is  3.50  per  cent, 
of  silica.  The  scale  is  so  arranged  that  for  each  quar- 
ter of  one  per  cent,  above  3.50  per  cent.,  two-tenths  of 
a  cent  per  ton  is  taken  off,  and  for  quarter  of  one  per 
cent,  below  3.50  per  cent,  of  silica  two-tenths  of  a  cent 
is  added.  Thus  if  the  delivery  price  is  60  cents  per 
ton  for  a  3.50  per  cent,  stone,  and  the  silica  should  run 
to  3.75  per  cent.,  the  price  would  be  59.8  cents  per  ton, 
and  if  the  silica  should  fall  to  3.25  per  cent.,  the  price 
would  be  60.2  cents  per  ton.  .If  the  silica  should  rise  t6 
.">  per  cent,  the  price  per  ton  would  be  68.8  cents,  and  if 
it  should  fall  to  2.00  per  cent,  the  price  would  be  61 
cents. 

The  average  analysis  of  the  limestone  used  in  the 
state  may  be  stated  as  follows  : 

Silica 4.00% 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina.    1.00 

Carbonate    of    lime 94.60         Lime  53.00% 

It  not  infrequently  happens  that  the  stone  is  much 
higher  in  silica  than  this  average.  Instances  are  on 


58  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

record: in  which  the  silica  was  8.00  per  cent.  In  such 
cases  the  production  of  iron  is  attended  with  consider- 
ably higher  cost  than  when  the  better  stone  is  used. 

Limestone  was  'the  only  flux  used  up  to  within  the 
last  few  years.  Since  that  time  the  use  of  dolomite  has 
largely  increased,  the  great  advance  being  within  the 
last  year.  In  the  manufacture  of  basic  iron  Intended* 
for  the  open  hearth  steel  furnace  it  was  soon  found  that 
the  use  of  dolomite  was  a  decided  advantage,  especially 
in  the  elimination  of  sulphur,  Whethev  this  result  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  dolomite  carried  only  1.25-1.50 
per  cent,  of  silica  as  against  4.00  for  the  limestone,  or 
whether  the  presence  of  magnesia  was  of  real  benefit,  so 
far  as  concerns  the  elimination  of  the  sulphur,  is  still  in 
dispute.  The  fact,  however,  remains  that  in  the  pro- 
duction of  basic  iron,  sold  on  analysis  under  severe  re- 
strictions as  to  quality,  only  dolomite  is  used.  Aside 
from  its  low  silica  content,  the  dolomite-  possesses  the 
further  advantage  of  great  uniformity  of  composition. 
This  is  a  point  very  much  in  its-  favor.  My  own  expe- 
rince  with  limestone  in  this  state  covers  something  like 
22,000  cars,  and  with  dolomite  about  2,500  cars.  The 
former  is  subject  to  considerable  variation  in  respect  to 
silica,-  while  the  latter,  in  so  far  at  least  as  concerns  the 
lump  stone,  is  of  remarkable  uniformity.  The  highest 
amount  of  silica  observed  in  the  lump  dolomite  is  a  trifle 
over  1.50  per  cent.,  the  ordinary  range  being  from  0.75 
to  1.25  per  cent. 

Extensive  deposits  of  both  limestone  and  dolomite 
exist  within  eight  miles  of  Birmingham.  The  haul  for 
limestone  is,  however,  about  thirty. miles,  only  the  dolo- 
mite being  worked  within  the  immediate  vicinity.  So 
far  as  my  observation  goes,  the  average  composition  of 
the  dolomite  used  may  be  taken  as  follows  : 

Silica 1.50% 

Oxide  of  iron  and  alumina  1.00 


THE   FLUXES.  59 

rbonate   of  lime 54.00$    Lime  30.31$ 

Carbonate   of  magnesia.  .43.00$    Magnesia  20.71$ 

The  proportion  between  the  magnesia  and  the  lime 
does  not  vary  much  from  1 :1.50. 

Both  the  limestone  and  the  dolomite  carry  small 
amounts  of  sulphur,  the  maximum  so  far  observed  be- 
ing 0.11  per  cent. 

As  in  the  limestone  quarries  there  are  layers  of  silic- 
eous material  interfering  with  the  quality  of  the  mate- 
rial, so  in  the  dolomite  quarries  there  are  ledges  of 
almost  pure  silica,  white  as  porcelain.  They  seem  to  be 
flinty  concretions  occurring  in  more  or  less  regular 
bands,  from  one  half  an  inch  to  three  inches  in  thickness. 
It  is  customary  to  separate  these  flinty  nodules  from  the 
stone  by  hand  before  it  is  shipped.  They  do  not  seriously 
interfere  with  the  quality  of  the  dolomite  if  care  is  used 
in  the  separation.  Otherwise  they  are  extremely  objec- 
tionable. 

The  impure  limestone  is  of  a  much  darker  color  than 
the  good  stone,  but  the  impure  dolomite  is  generally 
much  lighter  in  color  than  the  remaining  portion.  There 
is  a  kind  of  dolomite  that  occurs  in  some  of  the  quarries 
tha:  -  deceptive  to  the  eye.  It  looks  hot  unlike 

coarse  brown  sugar,  has  the  same  damp  appearance  and 
glistens  in  the  sunlight.  To  the  hand  it  feels  sandy,  but 
on  analysis  it  is  found  generally  to  be  the  best  stone  in 
the  quarry.  Some  samples  have  given  only  0.25  per 
cent,  of  silica.  Not  all  of  this  loose,  sandy  looking  dol- 
omite is  good,  however,  for  it  sometimes  happens  that 
it  carries  more  than  3.00  per  cent,  of  silica,  and  one 
sample  was  found  to  contain  nearly  4.00  per  cent.  It 
does  not  form  a  large  proportion  of  the  material  in  the 
quarry,  and  is  mined  and  shipped  with  the  other  stone. 

Both  the  limestone  and  the  dolomite  are  quarried  on 
the  face,  no  underground  work  being  required.  Crushed 
s.tone  or  lump  is  shipped  as  occasion  may  demand. 


60  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

The  amount  of  stone  used  per  ton  of  iron  varies,  of 
course  with  the  quality  of  the  stone,  with  the  nature  of 
the  ore  amd  fuel,  and,  to  some  extent,  with  the  grade  of 
the  iron  required.  The  range  is  from  0.30  ton  to  0.80. 
This  subject  will  be  discussed  in  the  chapter  on  Furnace 
Burdens,  which  will  be  devoted  to  the  general  practice 
throughout  the  state,  different  types  of  burdens  being  se- 
lected with  reference  to  the  consumption  of  raw  mate- 
rials per  ton  of  iron  and  the  cost  of  the  same. 

No  attempt  has  been  made  on  any  considerable  scale 
to  use  calcined  stone,  whether  limestone  or  dolomite, 
except  in  so  far  as  the  calcination  of  hard  ore  may  be 
considered  as  an  attempt  to  calcine  the  carbonate  of  lime 
contained  in  it. 

It  is  necessary  here  merely  to  state  the  question  in 
general  terms.  As  has  been  already  remarked,  in  the 
discussion  of  the  hard  ore,  we  have  in  this  State  an  inti- 
mate mixture  of  oxide  of  iron,  silica  and  carbonate  of 
lime.  The  best  of  it  contains  on  the  average  37  per 
cent,  of  iron,  13.44  per  cent,  of  silica,  and  15.45  per  cent, 
of  lime  as  carbonate.  The  admixture  of  these  materials 
is  far  more  perfect  than  could  be  attained  by  any 
practical  mechanical  means,  although  some  of  the 
ore  is  not  self  fluxing.  This  being  the 
case  we  "can  ask  ourselves  if  it  is  more  economical  to  em- 
ploy this  ore,  in  which  the  flux  is  already  so  well  mixed 
with  the  silica,  than  to  use  an  ore  of  far  less  content  of 
lime  and  therefore  requiring  the  addition  of  flux.  At 
the  first  glance  it  would  appear  that  it  is  better  to  avail 
ones  self  of  whatever  advantages  nature  herself  has  con- 
ferred upon  us  in  the  way  of  an  ore  carrying  its  own 
lime.  But  the  matter  can  not  be  settled  out  of  hand  and 
without  careful  investigation  of  all  the  data  bearing 
upon  it.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  furnace  man,  if 
he  could  depend  on  securing  self  flluxing  ore  regularly, 
the  matter  resolves  itself  into  the  simple  consideration 


THE  FLUXES  61 

as  to  whether  he  can  make  as  much  iron  and  as  cheap 
iron  in  the  one  way  as  in  the  other.  He  may,  indeed, 
go  a  step  farther  and  ask  if  he  makes  iron  more  cheaply 
in  the  one  way  than  in  the  other.  Having  settled  this, 
he  has  no  further  concern  with  the  matter.  If  he  can 
make  iron  more  cheaply  by  using  a  greater  and  greater 
proportion  of  hard  ore  than  by  using  an  ore  which  re- 
quires the  addition  of  extraneous  flux,  it  is  his  duty  to 
do  it.  This,  however,  is  a  one-sided  view.  There  are 
other  investments  in  the  State  that  must  be  regarded  as 
well  as  investments  in  furnaces.  How  is  it  with  the 
contractor  for  ore  and  flux?  Would  his  business  be  hin- 
dered by  the  substitution  of  hard  ore  for  stone?  If  his 
profit  on  the  ore  was  the  same  as  his  profit  on  the  stone, 
no  great  hardship  would  follow  the  increase  in  the  use 
of  the  one  and  the  decrease  in  the  use  of  the  other.  But 
if  it  should  happen  that  his  profit  in  mining  stone  was^ 
greater  than  his  profit  in  mining  hard  ore,  and  there 
should  be  such  an  increase  in  the  consumption  of  hard 
ore  as  to  destroy  the  value  of  his  stone  quarry,  he  would 
not  be  apt  to  appreciate  the  advantages  of  the  change. 
In  this  respect  this  iron  district  differs  from  any  other  in 
the  country,  and  the  relations  of  stone  to  ore  burden 
vary  perhaps  more  widely  than  elsewhere.  The  ability 
.of  the  furnaces  to  diminish  at  will  the  consumption  of 
limestone,  places  them  in  a  very  independent 
position.  If  the  price  of  stone  is  too  high,  they  can  run 
on  increased  proportions  of  hard  ore.  If  they  succeed 
in  obtaining  the  stone  at  reasonable  cost,  they  take  off 
hard  ore  and  put  on  soft  or  brown.  For  instance,  a  cer- 
tain coke  furnace  during  a  certain  month  last  year  made 
about  5,000  tons  of  iron  with  an  ore  burden  composed 
of  50.9  per  cent,  hard,  and  49.1  per  cent,  soft  ore.  The 
total  burden  was  as  follows  : 


62  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

Hard  ore  .................  27.7  per  cent. 

Soft  ore  ...........  .....  .  .  26.7 

Limestone  .  ...............  15.5 

Coke  .  .  30.1 


( i. 


100.00 
The  consumption  per  ton  of  iron  was  : 

Ore 2.36  tons  (2240  Ibs.) 

Stone 0.67     " 

Coke    ,  .1.32     » 


4.54 
And  the  cost  per  ton  of  iron  was  : 

Ore $1.3-2 

Stone 0.34 

Coke    ,  1.83 


$3.49 

The  consumption  of  coke  per  pound  of  iron  made  was 
1.32  Ibs.,  and  practically  all  of  the  iron  was  of  foundry 
grades . 

Shortly  before,  the  same  furnace  wTas  running  on  33.4 
per  cent,  hard,  65.3  per  cent,  soft,  and  1.3  per  cent. 
brown  ore.  The  total  burden  was  : 

Hard 17.0  per  cent. 

Soft 33.1  *      " 

Brown 0.6         " 

Limestone 16.9         " 

Coke  .32.4 


100  "      i 

The  consumption  per  ton  of  iron,  of  which  something 
over  4,600  tons  were  made,  was,  in  tons  of  2,240  Ibs.  : 

Ore 2.20 

Limestone * 0.73 

Coke    1.41 

4.34 


THE    FLUXES.  G3 

The  cost  per  ton  of  iron  was  : 

Ore $1.26 

Stone 0.43 

Coke 1.83 

$3.52 

The  consumption  of  coke  per  pound  of  iron  was  1.41 
Ibs.,  and  in  this  case  also  practically  all  of  the  iron  made 
was  of  foundry  grades.  In  these  two  cases  there  was  a 
saving  of  nine  cents  per  ton  of  iron  by  increasing  the 
proportion  of  hard  ore  and  lessening  the  amount  of 
limestone  added.  The  ore  cost  six  cents  a  ton  of  iron 
more  than  when  the  larger  proportion  of  soft  ore  was 
used,  so  that  the  net  gain  was  three  cents  per  ton  of  iron, 
;9  for  the  hard  ore  burden,  and  $3.52  for  the  other. 

But  with  the  lesser  amount  of  hard  ore  the  furnace 
made  358  tons  of  iron  more  than  with  the  greater 
amount.  This  has  to  be  set  to  the  credit  of  the  soft  ore 
burden. 

Perhaps  no  positive  conclusions  can  be  drawn  from 
one  or  two  instances,  and  as  the  whole  matter  will  be 
fully  discussed  under  Furnace  Burdens,  it  may  be  best 
to  defer  any  further  remarks. 

Enough,  however,  has  been  said  in  this  chapter  on  the 
fluxes  to  direct  attention  to  the  importance  of  the  con- 
siderations advanced.  The  future  of  the  iron  industry 
in  the  State  depends  not  on  any  one  circumstance  or  con- 
dition, howsoever  vital  it  may  seem,  but  upon  the  result- 
ant of  a  number  of  forces,  some  of  whose  effects  may  be 
at  the  present  but  dimly  foreseen.  It  is  possible  that 
the  relation  between  bard  ore  and  limestone,  or  dolomite, 
is  one  of  these. 


64  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

DOLOMITE  AS  A  FLUX  FOR  BLAST  FURNACE  USE, 

BY 

ED.  A.  UCHLLNG, 
(Proc.Ala.  Indus.  &  Sci.   Soc.,    Vol.  IV,  1894,  p.  24.) 

Dolomite  is  the  name  given  in  honor  of  the  French 
geologist,  Deodat-Guy-Silvain-Tancrede  Gratet  de  Dolo- 
mieu,  to  a  carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia  in  which 
these  two  constituents  occur  in  equal  or  nearly  equal 
equivalents. 

The  atomic  weight  of  magnesium  is  24,  while  that  of 
calcium  is  40;  but  as  each  of  these  atoms  is  combined, 
respectively,  with  an  afftom  of  oxygen  to  a  molecule  of 
the  oxide,  and  each  respective  molecule  of  the  oxide  is 
combined  with  a  molecule  of  carbonic  acid  to  form  the 
carbonate,  and  as  the  molecular  weight  of  the  carbonic 
acid  is  44  in  each  case,  it  follows  that  an  equivalent  of 
carbonate  of  magnesia  will  weigh  84,  while  one  of  car- 
bonate of  lime  will  weigh  100.  In  fluxing  power,  i.  e., 
in  the  power  to  combine  with  silica  and  form  a  fusible 
slag,  these  equivalents  are  equal,  because  the  power  of  a 
base  to  combine  with  an  acid  does  not  depend  upon  its 
atomic  weight,  but  upon  its  chemical  affinity,  from  which 
it  further  follows  that  84  parts,  by  weight,  of  magnesia 
have  the  same  value  as  a  flux  as  160  parts  of  lime. 

Pure  dolomite  is,  in  round  numbers,  composed  of  46 
per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  magnesia  and  54  per  cent,  of 
carbonate  of  lime.  Now,  because  the  fluxing  power,  as 
shown  above,  is  equal,  equivalent  for  equivalent,  and 
because  there  are  as  many  equivalents  of  magnesia  in 
the  46  per  cent,  as  there  are  equivalents  of  carbonate  of 
lime  in  the  54  per  cent.,  it  follows  that  100  pounds  of 
pure  dolomite  are  equal  to  108  pounds  of  pure  limestone 
in  fluxing  power. 

The  dolomite  which  is  available  in  the  Birmingham 


THE  FLITXES.  l>.~> 

district  is  of  exceptional  purity,  both  as  to  the  foreign 
matter  it  contain-  ;ind  as  to  the  proportion  of  lime  and 
magnesia  carbonate  of  which  it  is  composed,  viz  :  55  per 
cent,  of  the  former  and  43  per  cent,  of  the  latter,  with 
only  2  per  cent,  of  foreign  matter.  The  theoretically 
pure  dolomite  should  be  composed  of  45.65  per  cent,  of 
carbonate  of  magnesia  and  54.35  per  cent,  of  carbonate 
of  lime. 

The  limestone  of  the  district  is  vastly  more  irregular. 
While  there  are  some  ledges  of  exceptional  purity,  there 
are  others  that  are  entirely  worthless  for  fluxing  pur- 
poses. The  worst  feature  of  these  irregularities  is  that 
the  impure  ledges  make  their  appearance  in  all  the  quar- 
ries thus  far  opened .  For  this  reason  it  has  not  been 
possible  to  get  limestone  that  will  average  above  96  per 
cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and  94  to  92  and  even  down 
to  90  per  cent,  is  not  infrequently  the  average  of  whole 
shipments. 

We  will  take  for  granted  that  with  the  exercise  of  suffi- 
cient care  in  the  quarries,  a  limestone  of  an  average  of 
not  to  exceed  4  per  cent,  of  impurities  can  be  furnished. 

In  de terming  the  value  of  a  stone  as  a  flux,  it  is  not 
only  necessary  to  deduct  the  impurities  it  contains,  but 
in  addition  to  that,  as  much  of  the  base  as  is  necessary 
to  flux  these  impurities.  What  remains  only  can  be 
considered  as  available  flux,  and  has  value  in  the  blast 
furnace.  To  get  at  the  available  flux,  we  must  deduct 
2  per  cent,  from  the  carbonate  of  lime  for  each  unit  per 
cent,  impurity  in  the  stone.  Taking  the  limestone  at 
96  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime  and  deducting  from 
this  8  per  cent,  to  take  care  of  its  own  impurities,  we 
have  left  for  available  flux  88  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of 
lime. 

As  the  average  dolomite  contains  only  2  per  cent,  of 
impurities  and  43  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  magnesia 


66  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

with  55  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  we  will  have,  after 
deducting  4  per  cent,  from  the  carbonate  of  lime,  51  per 
cent,  of  this  material,  and  43  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of 
magnesia.  Reducing  the  carbonate  of  magnesia  to  its 
equivalent  in  fluxing  power  of  carbonate  of  lime,  we 
have,  because  the  fluxing  powers  of  the  two  carbonates 
are  to  each  other  as  84  to  100, 
43  x  100 


84 


x  51=102. 19. 


The  relative  values  of  the  two  available  fluxing  mate- 
rials of  the  district  are,  therefore,  to  each  other  as  88  is 
to  102.19.  That  means  that  88  tons  of  dolomite  will  do 
as  much  work  in  the  blastfurnace  as  102.19  tons  of  lime- 
stone. Put  into  dollars  and  cents,  this  means  that  if 
dolomite  can  be  bought  for  60  cents  a  ton,  limestone  is 
worth  only  52  cents  a  ton  ;  or  if  limestone  costs  60  cents, 
dolomite  is  worth  69.5  cents  a  ton. 

There  is  only  one  valid  objection  that  can  be  brought 
up  against  the  use  of  dolomite  as  a  flux  in  the  blast  fur- 
naces, and  that  is  that  magnesium  has  less  affinity  for 
sulphur  than  calcium  has,  and  dolomite  is  therefore  less 
efficient  as  a  desulphurizer  than  limestone,  to  the  extent 
that  caustic  lime  is  displaced  by  magnesia. 
This  objection,  however,  becomes  quite  insignificant 
where  the  ores  are  free  from  sulphur,  as  is  the  case  in 
the  Birmingham  district.  When  a  considerable  propor- 
tion of  hard  ore  is  used  in  the  mixture,  its  lime,  in  con- 
nection with  what  is  contained  in  the  dolomite  itself,  is 
ample  to  take  care  of  the  sulphur  contained  in  tlie  coke. 

One-quarter  to  one-half  dolomite  has  been  regularly 
used  in  the  Sloss  furnaces  for  nearly  two  years,  and,  at 
intervals,  as  high  as  three-fourths  have  been  put  on  with 
the  best  results.  The  ore  mixture  being  half  hard  and 
half  Irondale  (soft)  at  the  city  furnaces,  and  from  one- 
fourth  to  one-third  brown  with  generally  equal  propor- 


THE  FUELS.  67 

lions  of  Irondale  (soft) ,  and  hard  at  the  North  Birming- 
ham furnaces. 

The  coke  used  contained  considerably  above  the  aver- 
age amount  of  sulphur  found  in  the  average  coke  of  the 
district. 

The  iron  was  of  as  good  quality  as  could  have  been 
produced  with  all  limestone  as  a  flux,  and  the  furnaces 
have  worked  more  regularly  than  they  did  prior  to  the 
use  of  dolomite.  The  assertion  that  the  use  of  dolomite 
has  a  tendency  to  make  light  colored  iron  is  not  sus- 
tained by  fact.  Some  of  the  most  celebrated  foundry 
irons  are  made  with  all  dolomite  as  a  flux.  The  writer 
had  used  it  for  years,  while  in  charge  of  the  blast  fur- 
naces of  the  Bethlehem  Iron  Company,  prior  to  coming 
down  here,  and  experienced  no  difficulty  in  keeping  the 
sulphur  within  the  required  limits,  even  with  ores  con- 
taining as  high  as  1.5  per  cent,  of  that  element. 

The  Illinois  Steel  Co.  are  also  using  dolomite  exclusively 
in  their  Joliet  Works.  They  are  doing  very  good  work, 
and  have  no  trouble  with  the  sulphur  whatever. 

The  deficiency  of  dolomite  to  carry  off  sulphur  is  prob- 
ably very  much  exagerated.  There  are  impure  dolo- 
mites as  well  as  impure  limestones  ;  but  when  of  good 
quality  and  used  intelligently  and  without  prejudice,  it 
always  gives  good  satisfaction.  In  addition  to  its  supe- 
rior fluxing  power  there  is  decidedly  less  tendency  to 
'hanging1  with  dolomite  than  with  carbonate  of  lime. 

To  Mr.  C.  A.  Meissner  belongs  the  credit  of  having 
first  systematically  tried  dolomite  with  the  Birmingham 


THE  FUELS. 

The  fuel  used  in  the  blast  furnaces  of  the  state  is  coke 
and  charcoal,  110  coal  being  used.     There  are  no  known 


68  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

seams  of  coal  that  could  be  used  without  coking,  as  is 
done  in  Ohio  in  this  country,  and  in  Scotland,  particu- 
larly, abroad. 

Coke . 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  subject  connected  with  the  iron 
business  that  gives  rise  to  more  discussion  than  that  of 
coke.  There  are  so  many  different  kinds  made,  and  so 
great  diversity  among  them  in  respect  of  chemical  and 
physical  properties,  that  it  is  almost  a  hopeless  task  to 
attempt  to  set  the  matter  forward  in  a  manner  satisfactory 
to  all  concerned.  Even  in  this  State,  which  produces 
about  10  per  cent,  of  the  coke  made  in  the  United  States, 
there  is  a  very  considerable  difference  in  quality  between 
the  various  grades  of  this  fuel. 

This  chapter  is  not  a  treatise  on  coke,  nor  is  it  neces- 
sary to  enter  upon  the  subject  beyond  what  is  required 
to  explain  the  situation  in  the  State. 

Three  kinds  of  coke  are  made  here,  from  lump  coal, 
run  of  mines,  and  washed  slack,  and  each  of  these  three 
may  be  48  hr.  or  72  hr.  coke.  Regarded  in  this  way, 
and  excluding  mixtures,  of  which  there  may  be  en'dless 
variety,  we  have  six  different  kinds  to- wit : 
48  hour —  72  hour — 

Lump,  Lump, 

Run  of  mines,  Run  of  mines, 

Washed  slack,  Washed  slack. 

The  ordinary  practice  is  to  use  48  hr.  coke,  anji  per- 
haps 90  per  cent,  of  the  coke  is  of  this  kind.  The  chief 
difference  between  the  48  hr.  coke  and  the  72  hr.  coke  is 
in  the  strength,  or  the  ability  to  resist  abrasion  and 
crushing,  the  latter  having  somewhat  the  advantage  in 
this  respect. 

The  following  table  gives  the  results  of  some  experi- 
ments undertaken  to  establish  the  crushing  strain  of  a 


THE    FUELS.  69 

number  of  different   cokes  made  in  Alabama,  together 
with  the  analysis  of  the  samples. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  72  hr.  is  "a  good^deal  stronger 
than  the  48  hr.  coke  made  from  the  same  coal.  The  table 
is  taken  from  the  writer's  article  in  the  Proc.  Ala.  In- 
dustrial and  Scientific  Society,  1892,  Vol:  I,  p.  17 : 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 


hing  Strain  Pounds 
Per  Square  Inch. 


A 


*  Si) 

- 


<M   T<  COi-H  < 


-- 

30)         D-    -     <U   a3 

pqp^     pq 


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CO 

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| 


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O  r-t  T-H  Q  CM  O  O 

CD  "O  *O  O1 

O^  rH  O5  OO 


OOOiOiOiOOtOiOOOOiO 
O5  C^  ^^  C'J  T— I  ^t1  00  "^  T-H  GO  T— H  C^l  <O 

rfi  "CO  CO  h—  ^^  CD  C5  JO  <M  CO  W  CO  CO 
OiCSOOOOOOOOOOOOCCOOOOOSOO 

Q 


^ 


THE    FUELS.  71 

Some  work  has  been  done  in  the  direction  of  determin- 
ing the  apparent  and  the  true  specific  gravity,  the  per- 
centage of  cells  by  volume,  and  the  volume  of  cells  in 
100  parts,  by  weight,  of  the  coke.     The  investigations 
are  still  in  progress,  but  it  may  be  as  well  to  give  here 
the  results  already   reached.     They  are  averages  of  a 
considerable  number  of   determinations,  and   the  coke 
was  in  every  case  48  hr.  bee-hive  ;  coal  not  crushed  : 
Coke —     App.  sp.     True        %    of     Vol.  of     Ash. 
gr.         sp.  gr.    cells  by    cells  in 
Vol."    100  pts. 

Washed  slack,  0.861       1.784      51.69       60.24      10.82 
Run  of  mines, 

same  coal,      0.860       1.829       52.88       61.35      15.00 

There  does  not  appear  to  be  any  regularity  in  the  re- 
lation between  the  ash  and  the  percentage  of  cells  by 
volume,  or  the  volume  of  cells  in  100  parts,  by  weight, 
of  the  coke,  basing  this  opinion  on  some  30  determina- 
tions. A  larger  number  may  modify  this  conclusion. 

In  regard  to  another  important  quality  of  coke,  viz., 
its  ability  to  resist,  at  red  heat,  the  dissolving  action  of 
carbonic  acid,  very  little  information  has  been  gathered. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  the  scientific  study  of  the 
materials  used  for  iron  making  in  this  state  is  still  in  its 
infancy.  The  routine  furnace  work  precludes,  to  a  great 
extent,  any  excursions  into  fields  which,  although  at- 
tractive, do  not  seem  to  those  who  pay  the  bills  suffi- 
ciently promising  for  immediate  cultivation.  What  has 
been  done  in  the  last  few  years  is,  however,  very  en- 
couraging, and  we  are  constrained  to  hope  that  the  next 
few  years  will  witness  the  extension  of  scientific  investi- 
gations in  many  directions  at  present  closed. 

The  average  composition  of  the  coke  used  in  the  blast 
furnaces  may  be  stated  as  follows  : 


72  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

Coke  from  Run  of  Mines  Coal. 

PER  CENT. 

Moisture 0 . 75 

Volatite  and  combustible  matter 0 . 75 

Fired    carbon 84 . 50 

Ash.,  14.00 


100.00 
Sulphur 0.90—1.60  per  cent. 

Coke  from   Washed  Slack. 

Moisture .' 0 . 75 

Volatile  and  combustible  matter 0 . 75 

Fixed  carbon 88 . 50 

Ash 10.00 

100.00 
Sulphur 0 . 80—1 . 10  per  cent. 

Coke  from  Lump  Coal. 

Moisture 0 . 75 

Volatile  and  combustible  matter 0 .  75 

Fixed  carbon 87 . 00 

Ash 11.50 

100.00 
Sulphur 1 . 00 — 1 . 30  per  cent. 

In  chemical  composition  there  does  not  seem  to^be  any 
material  difference  between  the  48  hr.  and  the  72  hr. 
coke. 

The  composition  of  the  ash  of  the  various  cokes  in  use 
may  be  given^as  follows  : 

I  Run  of  Mines . 

PER  CENT. 

Silica..  ..47.03 


THE    FUELS.  73 

Ferric  oxide 12 . 46 

Alumina 33.62 

Lime 1.53 

Magnesia 1 . 69 

Sulphur 0.75 

Washed  Slack. 

Silica 45.10 

Ferric  oxide '. 12 . 32 

Alumina 31.60 

Lime 1.50 

Magnesia Trace. 

Sulphur 0 . 50 

Lump. 

Silica 46.00 

Ferric  oxide 12 . 00 

Alumina 32 . 00 

Lime 1 . 00 

Magnesia 0 . 50 

Sulphur 0.60 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  if  the  amount  of  ash 
and  its  composition  influenced  the  strength  of  the  coke, 
or  whether  the  treatment  of  the  coal,  prior  to  charging 
the  ovens,  and  the  duration  and  temperature  of  the  pro- 
cess should  alone  be  looked  to  in  explanation  of  this 
point. 

It  does  not  seem  probable  that  the  amount  of  ash  or 
its  composition,  per  se,  would  influence  the  strength  of 
the  coke  as  much  as  the  distribution  of  the  ash  constitu- 
ents in  the  coal. 

That  is,  if  the  coal  was  finely  pulverized  before  charg- 
ing there  would  be  a  more  equable  distribution  of  the 
ash-constituents  with  consequent  uniformity  of  composi- 
tion in  the  coke.  But  uniformity  of  composition,  how- 
ever desirable,  does  not  necessarily  imply  increase  in 
strength.  Granting  that  there  would  be  increase  in 


74  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

strength  is  this  effect  beneficial  when  the  coke  is  already 
strong  enough?  If  the  coke  made  from  any  coal,  with- 
out pulverizing,  were  already  strong  enough ,  the  only 
advantage  in  pulverizing  would  be  in  the  greater  uni- 
formity of  composition.  But  some  coals  do  not  yield 
strong  coke  unless  they  are  pulverized.  Whether  this  is 
due  to  the  irregularity  of  the  distribution  of  the  ash,  or 
the  bituminous  matter,  or  the  relation  between  the  cok- 
ing and  the  non-coking  constituents  of  the  coal,  is  not 
known.  When,  however,  such  coals  are  pulverized  they 
often  make  excellent  coke. 

The  composition  of  the  ash  of  coke,  by  affecting  its 
fusibility,  may  affect  also  its  strength, the  size  and  shape 
of  the  cells  and  the  thickness  of  the  cell  walls.  But  of 
such  matters  very  little  is  known. 

It  requires  a  great  deal  of  time  to  make  such  investi- 
gations, as  well  as  skill  and  perseverance. 

The  composition  of  the  ash  of  coal,  whatever  effect  it 
may  have  on  the  quality  of  the  coke  made  from  it,  car- 
tainly  has  an  important  bearing  on  furnace  practice .  It 
must  influence  the  fusibility  of  the  burden,  and  to  a 
greater  or  lesser  degree  affect  the  consumption  of  lime- 
stone, whether  this  be  the  carbonate  of  lime  in  the  hard 
ore,  or  extra  stone.  The  more  acid  the  ash  the  more 
base  is  required  for  fluxing. 

The  amount  of  coke  used  per  ton  of  iron  varies,  of 
course,  with  the  nature  of  the  coke,  and  of  the  other 
constituents  of  the  burden  ;  with  the  kind  of  iron  made, 
the  shape  and  size  of  the  furnace,  the  rate  of  driving, 
and  other  circumstances  grouped  generally  under  the 
term  ' 'furnace  practice ".  The  range  is  from  1.16  to 
1.72  tons  of  2240  pounds.  From  an  examination  of 
150.QOO  tons  of  iron  made  from  1890  to  1895  under  vary- 
ing conditions  the  lowest  consumption  for  a  period  of 
one  month  w,as  1.16  tons  per  ton  of  iron.  In  this  par- 
ticular case  the  furnace  was  working  on  all  brown  ore, 


THE    FUELS.  75 

the  burden  being  composed  of  brown  ore  52.9, 
limestone  20.4,  and  coke  26.7.  The  tons  of  iron 
made  per  charge  was  1.53  tons,  number  of  charges  1802, 
total  iron  made  2766  tons,  of  which  99.1  per  cent,  was 
of  foundry  grades.  The  consumption  of  materials  per 
ton  of  iron  made  was  ore  2.31  tons,  stone  0.89  ton,  and 
coke  1.16.  For  further  information  regarding  this  case 
reference  may  be  made  to* No.  1  table  VII  page  94. 

The  particular  case  in  which  1.72  tons  of  coke  were 
used  per  ton  of  iron  made  was  when  a  furnace  was  run- 
ning on  the  following  mixture,  stated  as  percentages, 
hard  ore  53.7,  soft  ore  34.2,  brown  ore  12.1.  The  entire 
burden  was  composed  as  follows  in  percentages,  hard 
ore  28.5  ;  soft  ore  18.2,  brown  ore  6.3,  limestone  10.6, 
coke  36.4.  The  iron  made  per  charge  was  1.88  tons,  num- 
ber of  charges  1819,  total  iron  made  3418  tons,  of  which 
92  per  cent,  was  of  foundry  grades.  The  consumption 
of  material  in  tons  per  ton  of  iron  was  as  follows  : 

Ore 2.51 

Stone 0 . 49 

Coke 1.71 

For  further  information  see  No.  22,  table  VII,  page 
94. 

The  average  consumption  of  coke  per  ton  of  iron  may 
be  taken  at  1.41  tons  of  2240  pounds.  This  would  mean 
that  for  producing  the  835,851  tons  of  coke  iron  in  1895 
there  were  used  1,179,375  tons  of  coke  and  that  250,000 
tons  of  coke  made  in  the  State  during  that  year  were 
diverted  to  some  other  purpose. 

The  average  for  the  best  coke  made  in  the  State  may 
be  taken  at  1.30  tons  of  2240  pounds  for  a  ton  of  iron  of 
2240  pounds.  A  pound  of  iron  has  been  made  in  the 
State  with  less  than  a  pound  of  coke,  but  for  a  very  lim- 
ited period. 

This  matter  will  be  taken  up  more  fully  in  the  chap- 
ter on  Furnace  Burdens,  as  tables  have  been  prepared 


76  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

based  on  more  than  83,000  charges  and  an  iron  produc- 
tion of  nearly  150,000  tons  over  a  period  of  several 
years. 

There  has  been  a  notable  decrease  in  the  con- 
sumption of  coke  per  ton  of  iron  since  the  introduction 
of  coke  made  from  washed  slack  coal.  It  is  much  su- 
perior to  ordinary  coke  both  in  structure  and  composi- 
tion, and  might  be  still  further  improved  by  pulverizing 
the  coal  before  charging  the  oven,  as  in  this  way  a  bet- 
ter distribution  of  the  ash  is  rendered  possible  as*  well  as 
a  stronger  coke. 

No  constituent  of  the  burden  responds  as  readily  to 
variations  in  furnace  practice  as  coke.  It  forms  gener- 
ally more  than  a  third  of  the  burden,  and  always  more 
than  half  of  the  total  cost  of  the  materials  entering  into 
a  ton  of  iron  is  chargeable  to  coke.  It  is  not  only  the 
most  costly  single  ingredient  it  is  more  costly  than  the 
ore  and  the  stone  taken  together. 

Economy  in  the  use  of  coke  is,  therefore,  the  most 
important  economy  that  can  be  set  on  foot  and  carried 
out  in  connection  with  the  manufacture  of  pig  iron  in 
this  state.  Better  ore  and  better  stone  are  needed  if  there 
is  to  be  no  better  coke.  To  improve  the  ore  and  the 
stone  is  to  increase  the  yield  of  iron  per  charge,  and  to 
decrease  the  consumption  of  the  most  costly  material 
entering  the  furnace,  i.  e.  coke. 

The  following  table  gives  a  bird's  eye  view  of  the  coke 
industry  in  Alabama  from  1880  to  the  close  of  1895,  and 
is  compiled  from  the  reports  of  Joseph  D .  Weetfs  to  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey,  Div.  Mineral  Resources, 


THE    FUELS. 


77 


TABLE  IV. 


« 

c 

a 

Ovens. 

g 

--  Value  of  Coke. 

•— 

- 

EH 

o 
9 

8C 

~ 

a 

"8 

~  ~- 

• 

IE 
=3 

Built. 

Building. 

GO 
P 

®  1 

•  -. 

^•^ 

0 

§ 

j  ^ 

0 
0 

o 

>° 

H 

(2 

$ 

1880 

4           316 

100 

106,283 

60,781 

57 

t     183,063!3.01 

1881 

4            416 

120 

184,881 

109,033 

59 

326,8193.00 

1882 

5           536 

261,839 

152,940 

58 

425,9402.79 

1883 

6           767 

122 

359,699,       217,531 

60 

598,4732.75 

1884 

8           976 

242 

413,184        244,009 

60 

609,1852.50 

1885 

11 

1.075 

16 

507,934 

301,1* 

755,6452  50 

1886 

14 

1,301 

1,012     '       635,120 

375,054     59 

993,302 

2.65 

1887 

15 

1,555 

1,362           550,047 

325,020     5li 

775,0902.39 

L888 

IS 

2,475 

406            848,608 

508,511 

60 

1,189,5792.34 

1889  19 

3,944 

427 

1,746,277 

1,030,510 

59 

2,372,417 

2.30 

1  1890 

20 

4,805 

371 

1,809,964     1,072,942 

59 

2,589,4472  41 

1891 

2] 

5*068 

-   50 

2,144,277 

1,282,496 

60 

2,986,242 

2.33 

1892 

2»'i 

5,320 

90 

2,585,966)    1,501,571 

58 

3,464.623 

2.31 

1893|23 

5,548 

60 

2,015,398     1,168,085 

58 

2,648,632 

2  27 

1894 

22 

5,551 

50 

1,574,245        923,817 

58.7 

1,871,348 

L'  25 

1895 

5,658 

2,459,465!    1,444,339 

58.7 

3,033,521 

2.10 

The  average  value  of  the  coal  used  in  making  coke  in 
1895  was  87i  cents  per  ton. 

A  few  years  ago  it  was  customary  to  use  run  of  mines 
coal  for  coking,  but  since  1892  the  tendency  has  been 
towards  slack,  both  unwashed  and  washed. 

To  show  the  changes  that  have  come  about  during  the 
last  few  years  the  following  table,  taken  from  the  same 
authority,  is  given  here  : 


78  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

TABLE  V. 

Character  of  Coal  used  in  making  Coke  in  Alabama. 


i 
K* 

Run  of  Mine. 

Slack. 

Total. 

Unwashed. 

Washed. 

Unwashed. 

Washed. 

Tons. 

Per 
cent. 

Tons. 

Pei- 
cent. 

Tons. 

—  -t^ 
«  c 
PH  g 

Tons. 

?H    +* 

o>  c 
*g 

1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 

1,480,669 
1,948,469 
2,463,366 
;  1,246,307 
411,097 
1,208.020 

81.8 
90.6 
95.3 
61.8 
26.1 
49.1 



206,106 
192,238 
11,100 
292,198 
477,820 
32,068 

11.3 

9.0 
0.4 
14.6 
30.3 
1.3 

123,189 
8,570 
111.500 
425,730 
677,899 
1.219.377 

6.9 
0.4 
4  3 
21.1 
43.1 
-49  6 

1,809,964 
2,144,277 
2,585,966 
2,015,398 
1,574,245 
2,459,465 

51,163 

7,429 

2^5 

0.5 

The  substitution  of  washed  slack  for  unwashed  run  of 
mines  coal  in  coke  making  is  very  evident.  Even  so  late 
as  1892  more  than  95  per  cent,  of  the  coal  sent  to  the 
ovens  was  unwashed  run  of  mines,  a  little  over  4  per 
cent.,  on  the  other  hand,  being  washed  slack.  In  1894, 
the  percentages  were  26.1  and  43.1,  and  in  1895  49.1 
per  cent,  and  49.6  per  cent. 

The  use  of  washed  slack  enables  the  mine  owners  to 
avail  themselves  of  what  would  otherwise  be  of  little 
value,  and  to  make  a  better  coke  of  this  material  than  is 
made  of  run  of  mines  coal. 


EURNACE  BURDENS. 

Few  considerations  affecting  the  production  of  pig 
iron  are  of  more  importance  than  the  proper  admixture 
of  thje  materials  from  which  the  iron  is  made.  Pig  iron 
is  made  from  iron  ore,  coke,  charcoal  or  other  fuel,  and 
limestone,  or  dolomite  for  a  flux.  The  ore  contains  the 
iron  mixed  with  various  substances  from  which  by  pro- 
cess of  reduction,  the  iron  is  freed-  Iron  does  not  exist 


THE    FUELS.  79 

in  ore  as  such,  but  is  combined,  generally,  with  oxygen, 
and  mixed  with  siliceous  matter.  To  remove  the  oxygen 
some  form  of  carbon  is  used,  such  as  coke,  charcoal, 
anthracite  coal,  or  a  kind  of  bituminous  coal  known  as 
splint  coal.  To  remove  the  siliceous  (sandy)  matter 
carbonite  of  lime  (limestone)  is  used,  or  a  mixture  of 
carbonate  of  lime  and  carbonate  of  magnesia  (dolomite) . 
These  materials,  the  ore,  the  fuel  and  the  stone,  are 
melted  in  the  blast  furnace,  and  there  are  obtained  from 
them  pig  iron  and  slag,  or  cinder. 

Coke  Furnaces. 

The  largest  furnaces  in  Alabama  are  80  feet  high,  and 
19  feet  6  inches  wide  in  the  bosh,  or  widest  part.  The 
greatest  amount  of  pig  iron  ever  made  in  a  furnace  in 
one  day  in  this  State  was  265  tons,  and  for  its  production 
there  were  required  588  tons  of  ore,  62  tons  of  limestone 
and  265  tons  of  coke,  all  of  2,240  Ibs. 

It  is  by  no  means  unusual  for  a  furnace  to  make  200 
tons  of  iron  a  day,  and  for  this  there  would  be  required 
480  tons  of  ore,  280  tons  of  coke,  and  25  tons  of  stone, 
if  the  proper  amount  of  hard  ore  were  used.  The  aver- 
age number  of  tons  of  material  handled  per  ton  of  iron 
made  is  about  4.44  in  coke  furnaces,  so  that  for  the 
835,851  tons  of  coke  pig  iron  made  in  1895  there  were 
handled  3,711,178  tons  of  material,  of  which  2,089,627 
tons  were  ore,  442,176  tons  were  stone  (limestone  and 
dolomite) ,  and  1,179,375  tons  were  coke.  These  are  ap- 
proximate figures.  The  amount  of  ore  required  to  make 
a  ton  of  iron  varies  from  2. 10  tons  to  2.87  tons,  the  aver- 
age being  close  to  2.50.  The  average  amount  of  coke 
used  per  ton  of  iron  made  is  1.41  tons  of  2240  Ibs.,  the 
range  being  from  1.16  to  1.60. 

The  average  amount  of  stone  used  per  ton  of  iron 
made  is  about  0.53  ton, the  range  being  from  0.10  to  0.88. 

The  amount  of  each  material  entering  the  furnace  per 


80  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

day  is  not  a  matter  of  guess,  or  of  indifference,  but  is 
carefully  determined  from  the  chemical  analysis.  It  is 
customary  to  fill  the  furnace  and  keep  filling  it  by 
" charges,"  each  " charge "  being  composed  for  the  most 
part  of  ore,  coke  and  stone.  Thus,  for  instance,  a 
1  'charge  "may  be  composed  of  5,600  Ibs.  of  coke,  10,080 
Ibs.  of  hard  ore,  2,740  Ibs.  of  soft  ore,  and  620  Ibs.  of 
limestone,  and  the  furnace  will  take  from  80  to  90 
charges  per  day,  and  should  yield  200  tons  of  iron.  The 
proportion  between  the  various  elements  of  the  charge, 
as  well  as  the  total  weight  of  the  charge,  and  the  num- 
ber  of  charges  per  day,  are  all  subject  to  change,  but 
unless  there  is  urgent  necessity  the  daily  alterations 
should  be  very  slight.  Having  once  established  the 
proper  burden,  it  is  not  advisable  to  change  it,  nor  is  it 
necessary  to  do  so  if  the  materials  can  be  provided  in 
sufficient  quantity  and  with  sufficient  regularity,  and 
uniformity  of  composition.  But  changes  of  burden  are 
very  frequently  made,  so  frequently  in  fact  that  the 
necessity  for  them  constitutes  the  greatest  obstacle  in 
the  path  of  successful  furnace  management  in  this  state. 
It  is  the  lion  in  the  way,  unchained  at  that.  In  compar- 
ing furnace  practice  in  Alabama  with  furnace  practice 
in  Pennsylvania,  for  instance,  one  is  impressed  at  the 
outset  with  the  frequent  and  in  many  cases  violent 
changes  in  the  burden  in  the  first  place,  and  in  the  sec- 
ond with  the  large  tonnage  handled  per  ton  of  iron. 
This  tonnage  is  referrable  to  the  raw  materials  going  into 
the  furnace,  and  to  the  cinder  which,  of  course ^ has  to 
be  removed.  This  condition  of  affairs  will  remain  as  it 
is  now  until  better  ore  can  be  obtained,  as  the  ore  com- 
prises about  56  per  cent,  by  weight  of  the  burden,  being 
more  than  the  stone  and  the  fuel  together,  and  is  subject 
to  wider  variations  in  physical  and  chemical  composi- 
tion than  either -the  stone  or  the  fuel. 

In  discussing  furnace  burdens,  therefore,  it   must  be 


THE    PUKLS.  Nl 

understood  that  we  do  so  with  some  reservations.  To 
present  the  matter  briefly  and  in  a  general  way,  as  be- 
comes the  character  of  this  publication,  and  yet  truth- 
fully as  far  as  we  shall  go,  is  difficult.  'Generalizations 
can  be  accepted  only  with  the. grain  of  salt,  and  should 
be  based  on  a  certain  set  of  conditions.  Given  these  we 
may  derive  valuable  information,  but  to  utilize  them  to 
the  best  advantage  one  must  know  more  than  appears 
on  the  surface. 

It  may  be  advisable  to  take  up  the  subject  first  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  coke  furnace,  and  then  discuss, 
briefly,  the  charcoal  practice. 

We  will  divide  the  coke  practice  in*o  two  main  heads  : 

1st.  Burdens  composed,  so  far  as  concerns  the  ore,  of 
hard  ore  and  soft  ore,  the  proportion  of  the  hard  ore  ris- 
ing from  48. 2  per  cent,  to  100  per  cent. 

2d.  Burdens  composed,  so  far  as  concerns  the  ore,  of 
hard  ore,  soft  ore,  and  brown  ore,  the  proportion  of 
brown  ore  rising  from  1.30  to  100  per  cent. 

3 si.  Burdens  composed,  so  far  as  concerns  the  ore, 
of  hard  ore  and  soft  ore,  the  proportion  of  hard  ore  ris- 
ing from  48.2  per  cent,  to  100  per  cent. 

In  order  that  the  same  basis  of  comparison  may  be 
used,  we  have  taken  the  delivery  prices  of  the  raw  ma- 
terials as  follows  : 

Per  ton  of  2,240  Ibs. 

Hard  ore 67.5  cts.  per  ton. 

Soft  ore 55.4     "         " 

Limestone 63.4     " 

Coke $1.75 

These  prices  are  very  close  to  the  averages  for  ship- 
ments during  1895. 

The  table  that  has  been  prepared  is  based  on  actual 
furnace  records,  and  comprises  results  obtained  from  the 
examination  of  32,917  charges,  the  amount  of  pig  iron 
6 


82  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

represented  being  50,360  tons.  The  years  selected  were 
1889,  1890,  1893,  1894  and  1895.  The  tons  referred  to 
are  of  2,240  Ibs.  The  table  includes  the  year,  the  priv- 
ate number,  the  number  of  monthly  charges,  the  per- 
centage composition  of  tlfe  ore  burden  and  of  the  total 
burden  ;  the  iron  made,  per  charge,  and  for  each  month, 
and  the  percentage  of  foundry  grades  (including  F.  F. 
or  4  F.,  but  excluding  Gray  Forge,  mottled  and  white); 
the  consumption  of  ore,  stone  and  coke  in  tons  per  ton 
of  iron  made;  the  cost  of  the  ore,  the  stone  and  the 
coke  per  ton  of  iron  ;  the  percentage  distribution  of  this 
cost ;  and  the  pounds  of  coke  required  to  make  a  pound 
of  iron.  The  calculations  have  been  somewhat  laborious 
but  the  results  are  extremely  interesting  and  important. 
They  do  not  cover  as  much  ground  as  could  be  wished, 
but  the  pressure  of  other  matters  compelled  an  abridge- 
ment of  the  original  plan. 

We  will  give  a  table  of  results  from  the  same  furnaces , 
consecutive  months  and  at  certain  intervals.  It  con- 
tains the  results  of  32,917  charges,  and  50,360  tons  of 
iron. 

Each  horizontal  line  of  figures  represents  monthly  re- 
turns. Four  furnaces  are  represented,  the  ore,  stone 
and  coke  being  the  same  for  any  one  furnace  during  the 
period,  and  all  tons  of  2,240  Ibs. 


I  •'   , 


84 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 


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THE    FUELS 


85 


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THE  FUELS.  87 

A  critical  examination  of  this  table  will  show  : 

1st.  The  amount  of  ore  used  per  ton  of  iron  made  in- 
creases with  the  percentage  of  hard  ore  in  the  burden, 
rising  from  2.39  tons  with  61  per  cent,  to  2.52  tons  with 
66  per  cent,  and  2.78  tons  with  90  per  cent. 

2d.  .The  amount  of  limestone  used  per  ton  of  iron 
made  decreases  with  the  increase  of  hard  ore,  falling 
from  0.69  ton  with  51  per  cent.,  to  0.45  ton  with  66  per 
cent,  and  0.12  ton  with  90  percent.  With  50  per  cent, 
of  hard  ore  in  the  ore  burden  the  consumption  of  stone 
is  1545  Ibs.  per  ton  of  iron  made,  with  66  per  cent,  of 
hard  ore  it  is  1008  Ibs.  and  with  90  per  cent,  of  hard  ore 
it  is  269  Ibs.  In  one  furnace  for  a  period  of  three 
months  the  consumption  of  stone  per  ton  of  iron  was 
0.75  ton. 

3d.  The  amount  of  coke  used  per  ton  of  iron  made  in- 
creases with  the  increase  of  lump  hard  ore,  rising  from 
1.34  tons  with  51  per  cent,  to  1.57  with  66  per  cent,  and 
1.61  with  90  per  cent.  In  the  case  of  one  furnace  car- 
rying 50.6  per  cent,  hard  the  consumption  of  coke  per 
ton  of  iron  made  for  a  period  of  three  months  was  1.52 
tons. 

Coke  is  always  the  most  costly  ingredient  of  the  bur- 
den. In  the  table  under  discussion  it  does  not  fall  be- 
low 53  per  cent,  of  the  total  raw  material  cost  per  ton 
of  iron.  The  tendency  towards  increasing  consumption 
of  coke  with  increasing  amounts  of  hard  ore  leads,  there- 
fore, to  increased  costs  for  raw  materials  in  a  ton  of 
iron. 

The  consumption  of  coke  per  ton  of  iron,  the  quality 
of  the  coke,  ore  and  stone  being  the  same,  depends 
to  a  very  great  extent  upon  the  amount  of  air  and  its 
pressure  and  temperature,  which  is  blown  into  the  fur- 
nace per  unit  of  time.  Instances  are  on  record  in  Ala- 
bama where  the  consumption  of  coke  per  ton  of  iron 
with  very  heavy  lime  burdens  over  considerable  periods 


88  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

did  not  exceed  1.25  tons,  but  the  furnace  was  well  equip- 
ped as  to  boilers,  engines  and  stoves.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances it  has  been  said  by  one  of  the  best  furnace 
men  in  the  Birmingham  district  that  he  could  use  all 
hard  ore  (of  the  best  self-fluxing  type)  and  make  iron 
with  1.25  tons  of  coke  without  impairing  the  quality  of 
the  iron. 

It  must,  however,  be  said  that  the  use  of  crushed  hard 
ore  tends  to  diminish  the  consumption  of  coke,  for  hard 
ore  in  large  lumps  is  not  easily  penetrated  by  the  redu- 
cing gases.  When  a  large  piece,  weighing  from  50  to 
75  Ibs.  is  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  furnace  in  descend- 
ing the  outside  of  it  is  first  effected.  The  carbonic  acid  is 
removed,  the  oxide  of  iron  begins  to  part  with  its  oxy- 
gen, and  processes  of  disintegration  are  set  up  which 
continue  until  the  ore  is  broken  into  small  fragments. 

It  may  be  assumed  that  t'he  oxide  of  iron  is  not  com- 
pletely reduced  until  each  piece  is  exposed  to  the  deox- 
idizing gases.  This  takes  place  with  comparative  rapid- 
ity if  the  ore  is  porous,  as  with  certain  kinds  of  brown 
ore,  or  if  the  fragments  of  ore  are  sufficiently  small. 
They  must  not  be  too  small,  else  the  current  of  gas  is 
checked,  the  burden  packs  and  the  furnace  "hangs." 
But  if  the  size  of  the  ore  particles  be  small  enough  to 
allow  of  easy  gas-penetration  while  not  so  small  as  to 
cause  irregularities  in  the  descent  of  the  burden,  we 
should  have  comparatively  favorable  conditions  for  re- 
duction. It  would  appear  that  the  hard  ore  has  .a  two- 
fold advantage  over  the  soft  ore ,  first  as  regards  tne  ad- 
mixture of  lime  for  making  a  self-fluxing  ore,  and 
second  in  having  the  lime  combined  with  carbonic  acid. 
The  first  advantage  renders  possible  the  saving  of  ex- 
traneous lime.  Using  80  per  cent,  of  hard  ore  and  20 
per  cent,  of  soft  ore  in  the  ore  burden  there  is  required 
582  Ibs.  of  limestone,  as  against  1680  Ibs.  for  50  per 
cent  hard  and  50  per  cent,  soft,  a  saving  of  31  cents 


THE  FUELS.  89 

per  ton  of  iron  in  favor  of  the  heavier  hardcore  burden. 
This  saving,  however,  may  be  more  than  counterbal- 
anced by  the  greater  amount  of  ore  and  coke  required 
in  the  heavier  hard  ore  burden.  It  may  not  be  possible 
to  obtain  better  ore,  i.  e.  so  far  as  concerns  its  iron-con- 
tent, but  it  can  be  improved  by  crushing.  Crushing 
does  not  increase  the  amount  of  iron  but  it  does  increase 
the  reducibility  of  the  ore  by  enabling  the  gases  from 
the  coke  to  act  upon  a  larger  surface  of  iron-bearing  ma- 
terial. It  does  more  than  this.  It  furthers  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  carbonic  acid  in  the  ore,  and  this  renders  the 
ore  more  porous. 

Crushing  and  calcination  have  a  common  purpose, 
TIZ  :  to  increase  the  reducibility  of  the  ore  by  increasing 
the  amount  of  iron-bearing  surface  exposed  to  the  reduc- 
ing agencies. 

The  use  of  crushed  hard  ore  is  rapidly  extending  in 
Alabama,  and  it  will  not  be  long  before  the  advantages 
attending  its  use  wiil  force  themselves  upon  those  who 
seem  at  present  to  be  indifferent  to  the  matter. 

In  a  paper  on ' '  Large  Furnaces  on  Alabama  material . ' ' 
(Trans.  Amer.  Inst.  Engrs.  Vol.  XVII.  p.  141.  1889) 
Mr.  F.  W.  Gordon  said  that  the  results  at  Ensley  proved 
the  possibility  of  making  a  pound  of  iron  with  a  pound 
of  coke.  Since  that  time  and  with  a  better  coke  than 
was  then  used  it  has  happened  for  a  day  or  so  that  a 
pound  of  coke  made  a  pound  of  iron,  but  the  coke  iron 
that  has  been  made  in  Alabama  with  a  ton  of  coke  per 
ton  of  iron  is  insignificent  in  amount,  and  there  is  no 
reasonable  expectation  that  it  will  be  increased  in  our 
day.  The  present  consumption  for  the  best  coke  is  1.34 
Ibs.  per  pound  of  iron,  and  this  is  very  near  the  average 
between  1.41  and  1.25. 

If  any  hopes  were  entertained  as  to  the  possility  of 
any  one  of  the  Ensley  furnace  making  a  pound  of  iron 
with  a  pound  of  coke  even  for  a  week  at  a  time  they 


90  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

must  long  since  have  been  abandoned  in  the  cold  light 
of  facts. 

4th .  The  tendency  of  the  percentage  of  foundry  grad.es 
of  iron  is  towards  a  decrease  with  the  increase  of  hard 
ore.  While  this  is  not  strongly  accentuated  still  it  ap- 
pears to  be  too  evident  to  be  neglected.  Individual  cases 
may  be  cited  wherein  the  percentage  production  of  foun- 
dry grades  during  a  month  was  higher  when  the  per 
centage  of  hard  ore  rose  to  80  per  cent,  than  when  it  was 
at  52  per  cent.,  as  by  numbers  34  and  20.  But  on  the 
other  hand  when  the  ore  burden  was  composed  entirely 
of  hard  ore,  as  in  No.  38,  the  percentrge  of  foundry 
grades  touched  its  lowest  point,  viz.  59.4. 

The  influence  of  increasing  amounts  of  hard  ore  on 
the  quality  of  the  iron  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  the 
discussion  of  this  subject.  Too  much  stress  can  not  be 
put  on  it,  for  it  determines  the  price  at  which  the  pro- 
duct must  be  sold.  The  higher  the  percentage  yield  of 
foundry  irons  the  more  valuable  is  the  output.  Any 
thing,  therefore,  that  tends  to  interfere  with  the  make 
of  foundry  iron  should  be  most  carefully  investigated, 
and  conclusions  drawn  from  authentic  records  must  be 
the  chief  evidence. 

Thirteen  cases  have  been  examined,  the  number  o? 
charges  being  32,917,  and  the  amount  of  iron  50,360 
tons.  Three  cases  in  whioh  the  percentage  of  ha.rd  ore 
in  the  ore  burden  was  50.9  per  cent.,  50.9  per  cent,  and 
52.3  show  the  following  percentages  of  foundry  grades 
respectively,  99.2  per  cent.,  96.2  per  cent.,  90.2  p|r  cent., 
the  average  being  95.2  per  cent. 

The  total  number  of  charges  was  8,853,  and  the  total 
iron  made  14,798  tons. 

Four  cases  in  which  the  percentage  of  hard  ore  in  the 
ore  burden  was  48.2,  50.9,  51.1,  and  52.3,  show  percent- 
ages of  foundry  grades,  respectively,  83.9,  68.3,  88.6,  and 
87.0,  the  average  being  81.9.  The  number  of  charges 


THE    FIT  ELS.  91 

was  11,325,  and  the  iron  made  16,845  tons. 

In  these  cases  the  average  percentage  of  hard  ore  in 
the  ore  burden  was  50.6,  as  against  51. 3  in  the  first  case, 
while  the  average  percentage  of  foundry  grades  was  81.9 
as  against  95.2.  While  there  was  a  veVy  small  differ- 
ence between  these  two  cases  in  respect  of  the  amount 
of  hard  ore  used  there  was  a  marked  difference  in  the 
percentage  of  foundry  grades  made,  95.2  per  cent,  and 
81.9  per  cent. 

Three  cases  were  examined  in  each  of  which  the  per- 
centage of  hard  ore  in  the  ore  burden  was  65.9.  In  one  of 
them  with  1,508  charges  and  2,970  tons  of  iron,  the  per- 
centage of  foundry  grades  was  95.7.  In  another  with 
1,343  charges  and  2,615  tons  of  iron  the  percentage  of 
foundry  grades  was  87.8.  In  the  third  with  1,512  charges 
and  2,898  tons  of  iron  the  percentage  of  foundry  grades 
was  93.2.  The  average  of  4,363  charges  and  8,483  tons 
of  iron  was,  in  foundry  grades,  92.2  per  cent. 

Finally,  three  cases  were  examined  in  which  the  per- 
centage of  hard  ore  in  the  ore  burden  rose  from  80.7  to 
100.  .  la  one  of  these  with  80.7  per  cent,  hard  there  were 
1,805  charges,  3,315  tons  of  iron,  and  93.8  per  cent,  of 
foundry  grades.  In  another  with  91.5  per  cent,  hard 
there  were  1 ,995  charges,  3,901  tons  of  iron,  and  83.9  per 
cent,  foundry  grades.  In  the  third  with  100  per  cent,  of 
hard  there  were  1.576  charges,  3,005  tons  of  iron,  and 
59.4  per  cent,  of  foundry  grades. 

Averaging  the  results  from  the  two  furnaces  carrying 
about  50  per  cent,  of  hard  ore  in  the  ore  burden  we  find 
that  with  20,178  charges  and  31,643  tons  of  iron  the 
percentage  of  foundry  grades  was  88.5. 

Comparing  this  with  the  results  from  the  furnace  car- 
rying 65.9  per  cent,  of  hard  ore,  with  4,363  charges, 
S.4S3  tons  of  iron  and  92.2  per  cent,  foundry  grades, 
there  seems  to  be  an  advantage  of  3.7  per  cent,  foundry 
grades  for  the  higher  percentage  of  hard  ore. 

Taking  these  two  together  and  comparing  with  them 
the  results  from  the  burden  averaging  90  per  cent,  of 


92  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

hard  ore  there  is  found  to  be  a  decided  falling  off  in  the 
percentage  of  foundry  grades. 

Perhaps  all  that  can  now  be  said  is  that  there  seems 
to  be  a  tendency  towards  inferior  grades  of  iron  when 
the  percentage  of  hard  ore  in  the  ore  burden  passes  66. 
The  smaller  the  yield  of  iron  from  the  furnace  the  higher 
is  the  percentage  of  foundry  grades,  and  this  seems  to 
be  independent  of  the  amount  of  hard  ore  carried.  Out 
of  8  cases  in  which  the  monthly  yield  was  between  3,900 
and  5,000  tons  there  were  37.5  per  cent,  in  which  the 
yield  of  foundry  grades  fell  below  87  per  cent.  In  5  cases 
in  which  the  monthly  yield  was  between  2,500  and  3,1-00 
tons  there  was  only  1,  or  20  per  cent,  in  which  tlu  per- 
centage of  foundry  grades  fell  below  87. 

Whether  we  may  conclude  from  this  that  rapid  dr ;  ng 
on  a  hard  ore  burden  tends  to  lower  grades  of  iron  is  not 
quite  clear.  Provided  that  the  furnace  has  sufficient 
engine  power  to  furnish  the  requisite  blast  and  stoves 
enough  to  furnish  the  requisite  heat  there  does  not  seem 
to  be  any  good  reason  why  she  should  not  work  off  on 
foundry  grades  satisfactorily,  even  with  a  very  heavy 
hard  ore  burden.  But  to  attempt  to  make  high  grade 
iron  with  hard  ore  (limey) burdens  and  insufficient  blast, 
or  heat  is  apt  to  cause  numerous  disappointments. 

Ore  burdens  composed  of  hard,  soft  and  brown  ore, 
the  proportion  of  brown  rising  from  1.3  per  cent,  to  100 
per  cent. 

The  table  embodies  the  results  from  40,270  charge*, 
and  66,653  tons  of  iron.  The  delivery  prices  for  thera  v 
materials  are  as  follows,  per  ton  of  2240  Ibs. : 

Hard  ore 67.5  cents. 

Soft  ore ,   55.4      " 

Brown  ore ' 1.00        " 

Coke ; 1.75i       <<    . 

They  are  the  same  as  for  the  table  giving  the  results 
from  ore  burdens  of  hard  and  soft  ore,  except  that,  in 
addition  we  have  brown  ore. 

They  are  not  assumed  prices  but  such  as  were  actually 
paid  in  the  Birmingham  District  during  1895.  Three 
furnaces  are  represented,  the  ore,  stone  and  coke  being 
the  same  for  any  one  furnace  during  the  period.  Each 
horizontal  line  of  figures  represents  monthly  returns  : 


94 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 


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Brown,  $1.00  Stone 


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THE     IT  97 

A  careful  examination  of  the  table  will  sho  , 
1st.  The  amount  of  brown  ore  used  per  ton  of  iro^ 
made  varies  from  2.28  to  2.49  tons.  In  1880  the  brown 
ore  was  not  as  good  as  in  1894  and  1895,  and  the  con- 
sumption of  ore  per  ton  of  iron  rose  to  2.49  tons,  al- 
though the  average  percentage  of  brown  ore  in  the  ore 
burden  was  16.3. 

With  44.1  per  cent,  of  hard,  52.1  per  cent,  of  soft  and 
3.8  per  cent  of  brown  the  consumption  of  materials  per 
ton  of  iron  was  in  tons  : 

Ore 2.28 

Stone 0 . 74 

Coke 1.38 

4.40 
and  the  cost  of  the  materials  was  : 

Ore $1.43 

Stone '.  .  .  .   0.47 

Coke 2 . 39 

$4.29 
When  the  proportions  were  :  PER  CENT. 

Hard 58.6 

Soft 25.1 

Brown 16.3 

the  consumption  of  materials  was,    in    tons    per   ton    of 
iron  : 

Ore 2 . 49 

Stone 0 . 42 

Coke 1.56 

4.47 
and  the  cost  per  ton  of  iron  was  : 

Ore .$1.73 

Stone , 0 . 25 

Coke 2 . 77 

$4.75 


98  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

When  tho  proportions  were  : 

Hard 16.1 

Soft 23.1 

Brown 60.8 

the  consumption,  in  tons  per  ton  of  iron,  was  : 

Ore 2.41 

Stone ., 0.87 

Coke 1.30 

and  the  cost  per  ton  of  iron  was  :' 

Ore $2.03 

Stone 0 . 55 

Coke..  .    2.29 


$4.87 

2d.  The  amount  of  limestone  used  per  ton  of  iron 
varies  according  to  the  amount  of  hard  ore  used,  being 
0.42  ton  with  58  per  cent,  0.74  ton  with  44  per  cent., 
and  0.87  ton  with  16  per  cent.  It  may  be  instructive  to 
compare  these  figures  with  corresponding  results  from 
an  ore  burden  of  hard  and  soft.  With  48  per  cent,  hard 
in  such  a  burden,  which  is  the  nearest  to  44  per  cent,  as 
above,  the  consumption  of  stone  in  tons  per  ton  of  iron 
was  0.79,  as  against  0.74  with  44  per  cent,  of  hard  in  a 
burden  carrying  brown  ore.  The  nearest  figure  in  the 
hard-soft  burden  to  the  58  per  cent,  hard  in  the  hard- 
soft  brown  burden  rs  65.9  per  cent.,  and  this  required 
0.45  ton  of  stone  per  ton  of  iron,  as  against  0.42  ton  in 
the  brown  ore  burden  carrying  58  percent,  of  hard  ore. 
It  is  important  to  note  that  a  hard  ore  burden  with 
100  per  cent,  of  hard  required  no  stone,  while  in  the 
brown  ore  burden  with  100  per  cent,  of  bro\^n  the 
amount  of  stone  required  per  ton  of  iron  was  .  0.87  ton, 
the  highest  consumption  of  stone  to  be  observed  in  these 
tables. 

3d.  The  amount  of  coke  used  per  ton  of  iron  decreases 
with  the  increase  of  brown  ore,  except  in  the  case  of  the 


THE    FUELS.  Of> 

furnace  in  operation  in  1890,  and  using  58.6  per  ca- 
nard ore.  In  this  case  the  consumption  of  coke  was  much 
in  excess  of  the  returns  for  1894  and  1895,  and  the  gene- 
ral increase  of  coke  with  increase  of   hard    ore   is   borne 
out  also  by  this  table. 

4th.  The  percentage  production  of  foundry  iron  from 
brown  ore  burdens  is  impaired  by  increasing  the  amount 
of  hard  ore.  With  44  per  cent,  of  hard  and  3.8  per  cent, 
of  brown  ore  the  average  percentage  of  foundry  grades 
was  97.7.  With  58  per  cent,  hard  and  16  percent,  brown 
it  was  88.2  per  cent.  With  16  per  cent,  hard  and  60 
per  cent,  brown  it  was  96.9. 

As  might  be  expected  from  the  more  complex  nature 
of  the  burden  the  admixture  of  hard,  soft  and  brown 
ores  gives  rise  to  greater  variations  in  the  economies  of 
production  than  is  the  case  with  burdens  of  hard  and 
soft  ore.  The  variations  are  traceable  to  the  fluctua- 
tions in  the  quality  of  brown  ore,  for  they  exhibit  wider 
ranges  of  composition  than  either  the  hard  or  the  soft 
ore.  Then  again  in  physical  qualities  they  are  apt  to 
show  rapid  oscillations.  The  condition  in  which  brown 
ore  from  the  same  mine  and  washer  reaches  the 
stockhouse  has  to  be  observed  personally  before  one  can 
fully  appreciate  what  these  may  be,  and  often  are. 
When  the  brown  ore  "Bank"  is  in  fairly  good  ore,  and 
the  clay  is  easily  disintegrated,  and  water  is  abundant 
the  ore  comes  in  clean.  When  the  clay  is  utough," 
the  ore  cherty,  and  the  water  scanty,  the  ore  comes  in 
wet,  and  seriously  hampered  with  clay,  or  with  too  much 
insoluble  matter. 

In  spite,  however,  of  these  obstacles,  which  at  times 
may  cause  trouble,  the  fact  remains  that  the  use  of  brown 
ore  is  highly  advantageous.  There  are  very  few  fur- 
naces that  are  not  glad  to  get  it,  and  now  and  then  to  pay 
a  good  deal  more  than  $1.00  per  ton  for  it. 

Instances  are  on  record  where  as  much    as    $1.50   per 


100  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

ton  has  been  paid  in  the  Birmingham  District  for  brown 
ore  of  55  per  cent,  iron,  although  the^  average  price 
is  much  lower.  Good  brown  ore  always  commands  a 
ready  sale  at  fairly  remunerative  prices. 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  furnaces  that  are  not  fa- 
vorably located  with  respect  to  hard  and  soft  ore,  but 
are  within  easy  reach  of  brown  ore,  the  proportion  of 
brown  ore  used  in  the  coke  furnaces  rarely  exceeds  25 
per  cent,  and  for  the  most  part  is  not  above  20  per  cent. 
The  ore  burden  is  arranged  in  various  ways,  50  per  cent, 
hard,  25  per  cent  soft  and  25  per  cent,  brown  ;  40  per 
cent  hard,  45  per  cent  soft  and  15  per  cent,  brown  ;  &c. 
&c. 

Under  special  conditions,  such  as  a  large  order  from 
pipe-works,  &c.  the  proportion  of  brown  ore  is  increased 
until  the  ore  burden  may  be  composed  entirely  of  it. 
But  by  far  the  greater  amount  of  iron  made  from  bur- 
dens carrying  brown  ore  is  made  with  about  20  per  cent, 
of  brown,  hand-picked,  and  washed,  but  not  calcined. 

The  practice  could  be  greatly  benefited  by  using  wash- 
ed and  calcined  ore  but  so  far  as  is  known  not  a  single 
coke  furnace  is  in  operation  on  this  kind  of  material,  ex- 
clusively or  in  admixture  with  hard,  and  soft  ore. 

What  has  been  said  as  to  furnace  burdens  is  true  in 
a  general  way.  It  is  not  our  purpose  now  to  go  into  the 
details  of  furnace  practice,  nor  to  discuss  the  manner  in 
which  the  raw  materials  may  be  used  to  the  best  advan- 
tage. This,  after  all,  must  be  left  to  the  judgment  of 
the  furnace  manager,  which  in  turn  is  based  on  actual 
experience  under  varying  conditions.  It  not  infrequent- 
ly happens  that  one  man  will  take  the  same  materials 
and  the  same  furnace  and  produce  better  iron  at  a  less 
cost  than  another,  whose  theoretical  knowledge  may  be 
of  the  best  but  whose  practical  acquaintance  with  the 
art  of  making  iron  has  not  qualified  him  to  manage  a 
furnace  successfully. 


THE    FUELS.  101 

There  are  excellent  furnace-men  whose  knowledge  of 
the  difference  between  silicon  and  silica  is  somewhat 
hazy,  and  who  would  find  it  extremely  tiresome  to  cal- 
culate the  cubical  area  of  a  furnace.  The#  have  acquir- 
ed their  information  by  hard  knocks  and  the  exercise  of 
common-sense  and  a  tenacious  memory.  AVe  have  in 
mind  now  a  good  furnace-man  who  will  probably  die  in 
the  belief  that  carbonic  acid  is  a  combustible  material, 
and  who  could  not  calculate  the  formula  of  a  cinder  con- 
taining 50  lime,  35  silica  and  15  alumina  if  he  was  to 
suffer  decapitation  the  next  day. 

Iron  making  is  not  only  a  science,  it  is  an  art,  and 
one  too  calling  for  the  constant  display  of  very  consider- 
able knowledge  and  skill,  and  of  untiring  patience. 

So  long  as  the  furnace  is  working  satisfactorily  all  is 
well,  but  to  know  what  to  do  and  when  to  do  it  in  case 
something  goes  wrong,  this  is  what  makes  or  mars  the 
furnace  manager. 

A  furnace  may  work  along  weeks  at  a  time  on  the 
same  burden  and  produce  its  normal  quantity  of  iron, 
and  that  of  a  good  quality,  when  some  subtle  change 
may  take  place,  discernible  only  by  an  experienced  eye, 
and  what  is  to  be  done  must  be  done  at  once. 

There  is  one  circumstance  in  connection  with  iron 
making  in  Alabama  that  renders  the  daily  life  of  a  fur- 
nace-man anything  but  " skittles  and  beer."  It  is  the 
wide  and  at  times  rapid  variation  in  the  quality  of  the 
raw  materials.  The  coke  is  of  fairly  uniform  composi- 
tion, but  the  ore  is  often  quite  irregular. 

There  lie  before  us  certain  furnace  records  giving  the 
daily  charges  of  ore,  stone  and  coke  over  a  considerable 
period.  We  will  take  a  certain  month  when  the  make 
of  iron  was  5,719  tons,  77  percent  being  foundry  grades. 
There  were  used  2,503  charges,  during  the  month,  a 
daily  average  of  80.7. 

The  furnace  was  using  80  per  cent,  of   hard   ore,    and 


102          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

20  per  cent,  of  soft.  During  the  31  days  the  amount  of 
ore  in  tons  per  ton  of  iron  varied  from  2.62  to  2.19,  or 
963  Ibs.  This  was  during  the  entire  month.  From  one 
day  to  the  next  there  were  differences  of  600  Ibs.  of  ore 
per  ton  of  iron.  In  other  words,  if  the  furnace  could 
have  been  charged  every  day  with  ore  carrying  45.6% 
of  iron,  as  was  the  case  on  one  day,  the  yield  of  iron  in 
the  month  could  have  been  6,620  tons  instead  of  5,719, 
a  difference  in  favor  of  the  better  ore  of  901  tons  for  the 
month.  The  daily  production  of  iron  could  have  been 
213  tons  instead  of  184  tons. 

Furthermore.  Not  only  is  the  daily  yield  of  the  fur- 
nace seriously  hampered  by  such  irregularities  in  the 
ore,  the  percentage  of  foundry  iron  in  the  make  is  also 
lessened,  and  there  are  opportunities  for  an  increased 
consumption  of  coke  and  greater  costs  of  production. 

In  burdening  a  furnace  it  is  in  every  way  better  to 
to  have  a  leaner  ore  of  regular  composition  than  a  richer 
ore  of  variable  and  varying  composition. 

There  would  be  fewer  and  more  restricted  variations 
in  the  cost  accounts,  and  less  interference  with  the  pro- 
duction of  the  better  grades  of  iron  in  the  one  case  than 
in  the  other. 

The  question  of  securing  ore  of  morecontant  composi- 
tion is  one  that  can  not  be  brought  too  forcibly  to  the 
attention  of  iron  makers  in  Alabama.  It  dominates  all 
other  considerations,  and  is  to-d'ay  the  most  vital  prob- 
lem confronting  them.  No  other  single  question  is  at 
once  so  important  and  so  little  studied,  the  interest  in  it 
seeming  to  be  in  inverse  proportion  to  its  gravity! 

Charcoal  Furnace  Burdens. 

The  production  of  charcoal  iron  is  diminishing  in  this 
State,  partly  because  of  the  increasing  proportion  of 
coke  iron  going  to  car- wheels  and  such  products,  and 
partly  because  of  the  increasing  cost  of  charcoal.  The 


THE    FUELS.  103 

reputation  of  the  charcoal  iron  mode  in  the  State  has 
been  most  excellent,  especially  that  of  Shelby  furnaces, 
and  even  now  in  these  times  of  depression  the  Shelby 
iron  is  sought  for  by  those  who  still  desire  a  high  grade 
charcoal  iron. 

The  charcoal  used  is  made  for  the  most  part  in  the 
old  way,  in  mounds  and  heaps,  the  attempt  to  recover  by 
products  in  specially  constructed  kilns  being  confined  to 
the  Round  Mountain  Company  in  Cherokee  county. 

By  far  the  greater  amount  of  charcoal  iron  is  derived 
from  the  brown  ores,  the  consumption  of  ore  per  ton  of 
iron  being  from  1.80  to  2.03  tons. 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  furnace  burdens  in 
good  practice  over  a  period  of  4  months ,  with  brown 
ore  : 


104 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 


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THE    FUELS.  105 

According  to  these  returns  the  average  percentage, 
furnace  yield,  of  iron  in  these  brown  ores  was  52.6,  the 
average  consumption  of  ore  per  ton  of  iron  being  1.90 
ton  ;  the  average  consumption  of  limestone  was  0.33 
ton,  or  739  pounds  ;  and  of  charcoal  100.1  bushels. 

The  ore  was  partly  washed  and  calcined,  partly  merely 
washed,  No.  46  being  washed  and  calcined. 

Investigations  that  have  been  carried  on  for  some 
months,  but  which  are  not  yet  to  be  published,  have 
shown  that  there  is  a  marked  decrease  in  the  amount  of 
charcoal  required  per  ton  of  iron  and  a  decided  increase 
in  the  output  of  the  furnace  consequent  upon  the  use  of 
washed  and  calcined  ore.  This  may  not  appear  from 
the  examination  of  the  returns  of  a  single  month,  as  for 
instance  in  No.  46.  But  after  comparing  the  same  ore 
under  these  different  conditions,  the  other  elements  of 
practice  being  the  same,  there  is  no  room  for  doubt. 

The  charcoal  furnaces  have  the'  advantage  over  the 
coke  furnaces  of  much  better  ore,  but  their  fuel  is  far 
more  costly  than  coke,  and  the  percentage  cost  of  the 
fuel  is  considerable  more  than  with  coke  iron. 

Charcoal  iron  is  worth  more  than  coke  iron,  the  pres- 
ent selling  price  being  about  twice  as  much  for  the  one 
as  for  the  other.  The  entire  product  is  consumed  by 
manufacturers  of  car  wheels,  and  those  who  make  a  spe- 
cialty of  tough,  chilled  castings.  In  the  old  days  a 
great  deal  of  charcoal  iron  was  used  in  boiler  plates,  but 
the  increasing  use  of  soft  steel  for  this  purpose  has  grad- 
ually destroyed  this  business,  and  very  little  of  it  now 
goes  to  boiler  works. 


106  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
FURNACES,    ROLLING    MILLS,    &c. 

Coke  Furnaces  in  Alabama. 

(From  the  Directory  of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Works  in 
the  United  States,  Amer.  Iron  and  Steel  Assoc.,  Phila., 
1896.  Jas.  M.  Swank,  M'g'r.) 

Bessemer  Land  and  Improvement  Company,  Bessemer, 
Jefferson  county.  One  completed  stack,  one  partly 
erected,  and  two  projected.  Fort  Payne  Furnace,  Fort 
Payne,  KeKalb  county,  one  stack,  65x14,  built  in 
1889-90,  and  blown  in  September  3d,  1890,  three  Sie- 
mens-Co wper-Cochrane  stoves  ;  fuel,  coke  ;  ores',  red  and 
brown  hematite  ;  product,  forge  and  foundry  pig  iron  ; 
annual  capacity,  27,000  gross  tons;  (formerly  operated 
by  the  Fort  Payne  Furnace  Company) . 

Bay  State  Furnace,  Fort  Payne,  DeKalb  county,  one 
stack,  65x14,  partly  erected  in  1890-1  by  the  Bay  State 
Furnace  Company ;  work  suspended  in  1891 ;  three  fire- 
brick stoves  ;  furnace  may  be  completed  by  the  present 
owner,  or  it  may  be  torn  down  and  removed  to  Bessemer. 
Company  also  contemplates  erecting  immediately,  at 
Bessemer,  two  stacks,  each  75x17,  and  several  hundred 
coke  ovens. 

Edwards  Furnace,  at  Woodstock,  Bibb  county,  one 
stack  70x15,  first  blown  in  June  10,  1880  ;  remodeled  in 
1887  and  1890  ;  three  hot  blast  stoves  ;  stack  to  be  torn 
down  and  removed  to  Bessemer;  formerly  operated  by 
the  Edwards  Iron  Company.  H.  F.  DeBardeleben, 
President ;  Walker  Percy,  Vice-President;  H.M.  McNutt, 
Secretary  and  Treasurer. 


FURNACES,  ROLLING  MILLS,  A-C.  107 

Clara  Furnace,  F.  W.  Roebling,  Trustee  for  Bondhold- 
ers, Trenton,  N.  J.  Furnace  at  Birmingham,  Jefferson 
county.  One  stack  65x15.5  ;  commenced  building  Feb- 
ruary 9th,  1890;  blown  in  August  23d,  1890;  three 
Massicks  and  Crooke  stoves;  fuel,  coke;  ores,  brown 
and  soft  and  hard  red  from  Alabama  and  Georgia ;  pro- 
duct, a  strong  low-phosphorous  foundry  pig  iron  ;  annual 
capacity,  22,500  gross  tons.  For  sale. 

Clifton  Furnaces,  Clifton  Iron  Company,  Ironaton, 
Talladega  county.  Two  stacks  :  No.  1,  55x13,  chang- 
ing to  70x16,  built  in  1884,  blown  in  April  16,  1885; 
No.  2,  60x14,  built  in  1889-90, and  blown  in  during  1891 ; 
built  to  use  charcoal  for  fuel,  but  changed  to  coke  in 
1895  ;  six  Cowper  stoves  ;  fuel,  Alabama  coke  ;  ore,  local 
brown  hematite  ;  product,  foundry  pig  iron  ;  total  annual 
capacity,  72,000  gross  tons.  Brand,  "Clifton."  T.  G. 
Bush,  President,  Anniston ;  Augustus  Lowell,  Vice- 
President,  Boston,  Mass.;  Paul  Roberts,  Secretary  and 
Assistant  Treasurer,  Ironaton.  Selling  agents,  Matthew 
Addy  and  Co.,  Cincinnati ;  C.  L.  Pierson  and  Co.,  Bos- 
ion  and  New  York. 

Gadsden- Alabama  Furnace,  Gadsden,  Etowah  county. 
One  stack,  75x16,  built  in  1887-88,  and  first  blown  in 
October  14,  1888;  three  Whitwell  stoves;  fuel,  coke; 
ores,  local  red  and  brown  hematite  ;  product,  foundry 
and  basic  pig  iron  ;  annual  capacity,  35,000  gross  tons. 
Brand,  "Etowah/'  Owned  by  Thomas  T.  Hillmari, 
George  L.  Morris  and  Mrs.  Aileen  Ligon,  of  Birming- 
ham. Idle,  and  for  sale  or  lease. 

Hattie  Ensley  Furnace,  Colbert  Iron  Company,  lessee, 
Sheffield,  Colbert  county.  One  stack,  75  x  17,  built  in 
3887,  and  blown  in  December  31st,  1887;  three  Whitwell 
stoves  ;  fuel,  coke  ;  ore,  local  brown  hematite  ;  product, 
foundry  pig  iron,  annual  capacity  48,000  gross  tons. 
Brand,  "Lady  Ensley."  A.  A.  Berger,  President;  Wade 
Allen,  Vice-President ;  J.  V.  Allen,  Secretary  and  Treas- 


108          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

urer;  A.  J.  McGarry,  Manager.  Selling  agents,  Lee 
Chamberlain  and  Co.,  Columbus,  Ohio.  Owned  by  the 
James  P.  Witherow  Company,  Pittsburg. 

Lady  Ensley  Furnace,  Lady  Ensley Furnace  Company, 
Sheffield,  Colbert  county.  One  stack,  65  x  17,  built  in 
1887-90,  and  first  blown  in  April  25th,  1889  ;  three  Whit- 
well  stoves;  annual  capacity  45,000  gross  tons.  R.  W, 
Cobb,  Receiver.  Idle  since  June,  1892. 

Mary  Pratt  Furnace,  W.  T.  Underwood,  Birmingham, 
Jefferson  county.  One  stack,  65  x  14,  built  in  1882,  and~ 
first  put  in  blast  in  April,  1883  ;  rebuilt  in  1889;  three 
Whitwell  stoves  ;  fuel,  coke  ;  ores,  local  brown  and  red 
fossiliferous  ;  annual  capacity,  30, 000  gross  tons.  Brand, 
"Mary  Pratt."  Idle. 

Philadelphia  Furnace,  Florence  Cotton  and  Iron  Com- 
pany, Florence,  Lauderdale  county.  Main  office,  330 
Walnut  St.,  Phila.  One  stack,  75  x  17,  commenced  by 
the  W.  B.  Wood  Furnace  Company  in  1887,  and  com- 
pleted by  the  present  company  in  1890-91 ;  three  Whit- 
well  stoves,  each  70  x  20  ;  fuel,  coke  ;  ore,  brown  hema- 
tite froia  Lawrence  county,  Tenn. ;  product,  foundry  pig 
iron  ;  annual  capacity  45,000  gross  tons.  Brand,  "Phil- 
adelphia." Abraham  S.  Patterson,  President,  Robert 
Dornan,  Vice-President;  James  Pollock,  Secretary  and 
Treasurer.  For  sale. 

Pioneer  Furnaces,  Pioneer  Mining  and  Manufacturing 
Company,  Thomas,  Jefferson  county.  Two  stacks,  each 
75  x  16.5  ;  No.  1  built  in  1886-88,  and  blown  in  May  15, 
1888;  No.  2  built  in  1889-90,  and  blown  in  February 
22nd,  1890  ;  eight  Siemens-Cowper-Cochrane  stovea;  fuel, 
Alabama  coke;  ores,  red  and  brown  hematite  from  the 
company's  mines  near  the  furnaces  ;  product,  foundry 
pig  iron ;  total  annual  capacity,  95,000  gross  tons. 
Brand,  "Pioneer."  Edwin  Thomas,  President,  and 
Samuel  Thomas,  Vice-President,  Catasaqua,  Penna, ; 
George  H.  Myers,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Bethlehem, 


FURNACES,  ROLLING  MILLS,  &C .  109 

Penna.  Selling  agents,  Matthew  Addy  and  Co.,  201 
\Valnut  Place,  Phila. 

Sheffield  Furnaces,  Sheffield  Coal,  Iron  and  Steel 
Company,  Sheffield,  Colbert  county.  Three  stacks,  each 
75  x  18,  built  in  1887-88  ;  No.  1  blown  in  during  Sept., 
1888,  and  No.  2  blown  in  during  Oct.,  1889  ;  No.  3  not 
yet  blown  in ;  Nos.  1  and  2  rebuilt  in  1891 ;  nine  Whit- 
Trell-Cowper  stoves;  fuel,  Alabama  and  Virginia  coke ; 
ores,  Alabama  and  Tennessee  brown  hematite  ;  product* 
foundry  pig  iron;  total  annual  capacity,  150,000  gross 
tons.  "Brand,  "Sheffield."  E.  W.  Cole,  President, 
Nashville,  Tenn. ;  Jerome  Keeley,  Vice- President,  Phila., 
George  H.  Berlin,  Secretary,  Sheffield;  J.  A.  McKee, 
Treasurer,  Phila.;  Samuel  Adams,  Superintendent, 
Sheffield.  Selling  agents,  Rogers,  Brown  and  Co.,  Cin- 
cinnati. 

Sloss  Furnace,  Sloss  Iron  and  Steel  Company,  Bir- 
mingham, Jefferson  county.  Four  stacks:  No.  1, 
82.25x18,  built  in  1881-82,  put  in  blast  April  12th,  1882, 
and  rebuilt  in  1895  ;  No.  2,  68x18,  built  in  1882  ;  No.  3, 
73x16.5,  built  in  1887-88,and  blown  in  during  Oct.,  1888; 
No.  4,  73x16.5,  built  in  1887-89,  and  blown  in  during 
Feb.,  1889;  five  Whitwell,  eight  Gordon-  Whit  well-Co  w- 
per,  and  three  two-pass  18x70  stoves ;  fuel,  coke  ;  ores, 
red  fossiliferous,  hard  and  soft,  and  brown  hematite ; 
ores  and  coal  mined  on  the  company's  property  within, 
ten  to  fifteen  miles  of  furnaces ;  product,  foundry  and 
mill  pig  iron  ;  total  annual  capacity,  200,000  gross  tons. 
Brand,  "Sloss."  Thomas  Seddon,  President;  E.  W. 
Rucker ,  Vice-President ;  W.  L.  Sims,  Secretary  and  Treas- 
urer; J.  H.  McCune,  Furnace  Manager.  Selling  agents, 
D.  L.  Cobb,  Louisville  and  Chicago;  J.  E.  Cartwright, 
St.  Louis;  Rogers.  Brown  and  Warner,  Phila.;  Hugh 
\V.  Adams  and  Co.,  15  Beekmau  St.,  N.  Y. 

Spathite  Furnace,  The  Spathite  Iron  Company,  Flor- 
ence, Lauderdale  county.  One  stack,  75x14,  completed 


110          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

in  December,  1888,  and  blown  in  during  Oct.,  1889;  re- 
built in  1893  ;  three  improved  Pollock  stoves  ;  fuel,  coke; 
ores,  spathite  and  brown  hematite  from  Iron  City,  Tenn.; 
product,  spathite  pig  iron  ;  annual  capacity,  30,000  gross 
tons.  Brand,  "Spathite."  (Formerly  called  North 
Alabama  Furnace.)  J.  Overton  Ewin,  Receiver;  J.  H. 
Short,  Superintendent.  Selling  agents,  Rogers,  Brown 
&  Co.,  Cincinnati.  Sold  Nov.  25th,  1895,  to  Louisville 
Banking  Company,  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

Talladega  Furnace  ,<Talladega  Furnace  Company,  Tal- 
ladega,  Talladega  county.  One  stack,  72x18,  built  in 
1889,  and  blown  in  October  5th,  1889;  three  Ford  and 
.Moncur  stoves,  each  62x26;  fuel,  Alabama  and  West 
Virginia  coke;  ore,  local  brown  hematite  ;  product,  Bes- 
semer, foundry  and  forge  pig  iron ;  annual  capacity, 
40,000  gross  tons.  Brand,  "Talladega."  W.  P.  Arm- 
strong, President;.  George  Dunglinson,  Secretary;  R.  L. 
Ivey,  Treasurer.  Negotiations  now  pending  for  the  sale 
of  the  furnace. 

Tennessee  Coal,  Iron  and  Railroad  Company,  Birming- 
ham, Jefferson  county.  Thirteen  stacks  in  Jefferson 
county.  Five  stacks  at  Bessemer:  Nos.  1  and  2,  each 
75x17,  built  in  1886-87;  No.  1  put  in  blast  in  1888,  and 
No.  2  in  1889;  seven  Whit  well  stoves  ;  Nos.  3  and  4,  each 
75x17,  built  in  1889-90;  eight  Whitwell  stoves;  No.  5, 
or  Little  Belle,  60x12,  built  in  1889-90,  three  Whitwell 
stoves. 

Oxmoor  Furnaces,  at  Oxmoor,  (formerly  called  Eureka 
Furnaces)  two  stacks  :  No.  1,  75x17,  completed  in  July, 
1877,  and  rebuilt  and  blown  in  during  Dec.,  1885*;  No. 
2,  75x17,  first  blown  in  in  March,  1876,  and  rebuilt  and 
blown  in  during  Aug,  1886;  seven  Whit  well  stoves.  Fuel, 
Alabama  coke,  made  in  the  company's  ovens  ;  ores,  local 
brown  he-matite  and  red  fossiliferous  from  the  company's 
mines  ;  product,  foundry,  mill  and  basic  open-hearth  pig 


FURNACES,    ROLLING    MILLS,  «feC.  Ill 

iron  ;  total  annual  capacity,  361,500  gross  tons.  Brand, 
"DeBardeleben." 

Alice  Furnaces,  at  Birmingham,  two  stacks:  No.  1, 
75x15,  built  in  1879-80,-and  put  in  blast  November  23d, 
1880 ;  raised  to  present  height  in  1890  ;  three  Gordon- 
Whitwell-Cowper  stoves  ;  No.  2,  80x17.5,  built  in  1883, 
and  put  in  blast  July  24th,  1883;  three  Whitwell  stoves; 
brand,  "Alice." 

Ensley  Furnaces,  at  Ensley.  Four  stacks,  each  80x19.5, 
built  in  1887,  1888,  and  1889;  No.  1  blown  in  March  19, 
1SS9  ;  No.  2,  December  1st,  1888;  No.  3,  June  5th,  1888, 
and  No.  4  April  9fch,  1888;  four  Gordon-Whitwell-Cow- 
per  stoves  to  each  furnace.  Brand,  ''Ensley.' '  Fuel, 
coke  made  in  the  company's  ovens;  ores,  red  and  brown 
hematite  from  the  company's  mines  at  Hillman,  Red- 
ding and  Woodstock;  product,  foundry,  mill  and  basic 
open-hearth  pig  iron  ;  annual  capacity  of  Alice  Furnaces 
113,000  gross  tons;  of  Ensley  Furnaces,  270,000  tons. 
Total  annual  capacity  of  the  thirteen  stacks,  744,000 
tons.  N.  Baxter,  Jr.,  President;  David  Roberts,  1st 
Y  ice-President ;  A.  M.  Shook,  2d  Vice-President;  George 
B.  McCormack,  General  Manager;  James  Brown,  Treas- 
urer; Andrew  M.  Adger,  Secretary  and  Assistant  Treas- 
urer; H.  D.  Cooper,  Auditor;  Erskine  Ramsay,  Chief 
Engineer:  John  Dowling,  Superintendent  of  Bessemer 
Division;  A.  E.  Barton,  Superintendent  of  Ensley 
Division.  Selling  agen-ts,  Rogers,  Brown  &  Co.,  Cin- 
cinnati, and  branch  houses;  Matthew  Addy  &  Co.,  Cin- 
cinnati and  St.  Louis. 

Trussville  Furnace,  Trussville,  Jefferson  county.  One 
stack,  Goxis.  built  in  1887-89,  and  blown  in  in  April, 
1889;  three  Whitwell  stoves;  fuel,  Alabama  coke  ;  ore, 
local  red  hematite  ;  product,  fourjdry  pig  iron;  annual 
capacity,  30,000  gross  tons.  Brand,  "Trussville." 
<  hvned  by  Messrs.  Hogsett,  Ewing  and  Thompson.  Ne- 
gotiations pending  for  the  sale  of  the  furnace  ;  if  sold, 


112         GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 


stack  will  be  enlarged  to  75x18,  and  the  capacity 
increased  to  60,000  gross  tons. 

Williamson  Furnace,  Williamson  Iron  Company,  Bir- 
mingham, Jefferson  county.  One  stack,  65x13.66,  built 
in  1886,  and  first  blown  in  in  October,  1886  ;  three  Mas- 
sicks  and  Crooke  stoves  ;  fuel,  coke  made  at  Coalburg; 
ores,  red  fossil  and  brown  hematite;  product,  foundry 
and  mill  pig  iron  ;  annual  capacity,  18,000  gross  tons. 
Brand,  "  Williamson."  C.  P.  Williamson,  President 
and  General  Manager  ;  H  .  D  .  Williamson  ,  Vice-Presi- 
dent; J.  B.  Simpson,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

Woodstock  Furnaces,  The  Woodstock  Iron  Works, 
Anniston,  Calhoun  county.  Two  stacks,  each  75x16, 
built  in  1887-89,  and  one  blown  in  October  10th,  1889  ; 
six  Whitwell  stoves;  fuel,  Alabama  coke;  ore,  local  brown 
hematite  ;  product,  foundry  pig  iron  ;  total  annual  capac- 
ity; 72,000  gross  tons.  Brand  "Woodstock."  John  D. 
Probst,  President,  and  George  Glover,  Secretary,  New 
York;  H.Atkinson,  Vice-President  ;  J.  W.  McCulloh, 
General  Manager,  and  W.  L.  Doane,  Treasurer  and  As- 
sistant Secretary,  Anniston.  Altering  and  repairing  one 
stack,  to  increase  daily  capacity  from  125  to  165  tons. 

Woodward  Iron  Company  ,  Woodward,  Jefferson  county. 
Two  stacks,  each  75x17,  one  built  in  1882-83,  and  put 
in  blast  in  August,  1883,  and  the  other  built  in  1886; 
eight  Whitwell  stoves  ;  fuel,  coke  made  from  the  com- 
pany's coal;  ore,  red  fossiliferous,  mined  within  three 
miles  of  the  furnace;  specialty,  foundry  pig  iron;  total 
annual  capacity,  100,000  gross  tons.  Brand,  "Wood- 
ward." J.  H.  Woodward,  President  ;  Frank  M.  Eaton, 
Secretary;  Silas  Hine,  Treasurer. 

Number  of  coke  furnaces  in  Alabama,  39  completed 
stacks,  1  stack  partly,  erected,  and  2  stacks  projected. 

Annual  capacity  of  coke  furnaces  in  Alabama,  1,804,- 
000  gross  tons. 

Number  of   coke    and    bituminous    furnaces    in   the 


FURNACES,    ROLLING    MILLS,  &C.  113 

United  States,  256 ;  annual    capacity,    13,118,600  gross 
tons. 

Alabama  has  15.2  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of 
coke  furnaces,  13.7  per  cent,  of  the  total  annual  capaci- 
ty, and  produces  10.5  per  cent  of  the  total  amount  of 
coke  iron. 

Dividing  the  period  1876-1895  into  4  sub-periods  of 
5  years  each  we  have  the  following  comparisons  : 

1876-1880,  coke  furnaces  built  4,  production  in  1876 
1,262  tons,  in  1880  35,232  tons,  increase  33,070  tons,  or 
28  times. 

1881-1885,  coke  furnaces  built  6,  production  in  1881 
48,107  tons,  in  1885  133,808  tons,  increase  85,701  tons, 
or  2.78  times. 

1886-1890,  coke  furnaces  built  29,  production  in  1886 
180,133  tons,  in  1890  718,383  tons,  increase  538,250  tons, 
or  3.99  times. 
1891-1895,  no  coke  furnaces  built. 

The  greatest  activity  was  displayed  in  the  period  1886- 
1890,  as  of  the  39  completed  stacks  in  1895  29,  or  74.5 
per  cent,  were  built  during  these  years.  It  was  not  un- 
til 1888  that  the  production  of  coke  iron  passed  the  200,- 
000  ton  mark,  and  not  until  1889  did  it  rise  above  500,- 
000  tons,  and  assume  respectable  proportions.  The 
year  1895  witnessed  the  largest  production  of  coke  iron 
ever  recorded  in  the  State,  835,851  tons,  excelling  the 
output  of  1892  by  11  tons. 

Of  the  835,851  tons  387,793  tons,  46.4  per  cent,  were 
made  during  the  first  half  of  the  year,  18  furnaces  being 
ia  blast  June  30th,  and  448,058  tons  53.6  per  cent,  ia 
the  second' half,  20  furnaces  being  in  blast  December 
31st. 

The  60,265  tons  made  in  the  second  half  of  the  year 
in  excess  of  the  output  during  the  first  half  may  be 
taken  as  representing  the  increase  due  to  the  upward 


114 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 


tendency  of  prices  which  seemed    to   be    genuine   about 
that  time. 

The  production  of  coke  iron  since  1876  is  given  in  the 
following  table  : 


TABLE  IX. 

Production  of  Coke  Iron   in    Alabama. — Tons    of  2,240 

pounds. 


YEAR. 

TONS. 

YEAR. 

TONS. 

YEAR. 

TONS 

YEAR. 

TONS. 

1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 

1,262 
14,643 
15,615 
15,937 
35,232 

1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 

48,107 
51,093 
102,750 
116,264 
133,808 

1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 

180,133 
176,374 
317,289 
608,034 
718,383 

|  1891 
i  1892 
i  1893 
!  1894 
i  1895 

717,687 
835,840 
659,725 
556,314 
835,851 

Charcoal  Furnaces  in  Alabama. 

[From  the  Directory  to  the  Iron  and  Steel  Works  in  the  United 
States,  American  Iron  and  Steel  Association,  Phila.  1896.  Jas.  M. 
Swank,  Manager.] 

Attalla  Furnace,  Buffalo  Iron  Company,  Nashville, 
Tenn.  Furnace  at  Attalla,  Etowah  County.  One 
stack,  55x11,  built  in  1888-89,  and  blown  in  June  15th, 
1889  ;  iron  stoves  :  ores,  red  and  brown  hematite  from 
Etowah  and  Cherokee  counties  ;  product,  car-whoel  pig 
iron;  annual  capacity,  18,000  gross  tons.  Brand.  "At- 
talla". Robt.  E wing,  President ;  J.  A.  Cooper,  Secre- 
tary and  Treasurer. 

Bibb  Furnace,  Alabama  Iron  and  Steel  Company, 
Brierfield,  Bibb  county.  One  stack,  55x12,  built  in 
1864  to  use  charcoal ;  re-built  in  1881,  and  remodeled  in 


FURNACES,    ROLLING    MILLS,  <&C.  115 

1886  to  use  coke;  returned  to  the  use  of  charcoal  in  1890; 
re-built  in  1892  ;  warm  blast ;  ore,  brown  hematite,  min- 
ed in  the  vicinity  ;  product,  car- wheel  pig  iron  ;  annual 
capacity,  14,500  gross  tons.  Brand,  "Bibb".  T.  J. 
Peter,  President.  Selling  agents,  C.  R.  Baird  &  Co. 
Phil.,  De  Camp  &  Yule,  St.  Louis;  Forster,  Hawes  & 
Co.,  Chicago. 

Coosa  Furnace,  Gadsden  Iron  Company,  Gads- 
den,  Etowah  county.  One  stack,  64x12,  built  in  1882 
with  material  from  the  Vigo  Iron  Company's  No.l  fur- 
nace at  Terra  Haute,  Indiana  ;  first  blown  in  May  30th, 
1883;  hot  blast ;  ores,  local  red  and  brown  hematite; 
product,  foundry  and  car-wheel  pig  iron;  annual  capaci- 
ty, 8,000  gross  tons.  Brand,  "Stewart".  (Formerly 
called  Gadsden  Furnace) .  A.  J.  Crawford,  President, 
Terre  Haute,  Ind.  ;  T.  W.  Stewart,  Secretary,  Treasurer, 
and  General  Manager. 

Decatur  Charcoal  Iron  Furnace,  The  Decatur 
Land  Company,  New  Decatur,  Morgan  county. 
One  stack,  60x12,  built  in  1887-88,  and  blown  in  Feb- 
ruary 23d,  1890  ;  two  Gordon- WMtwell-Cowper  stoves  ; 
used  coke  as  fuel  for  a  short  time  ;  ores,  red  and  brown 
hematite ;  annual  capacity,  18,000  gross  tons.  J.  D. 
Probst,  President,  and  C.  Y.  Kent,  Assistant  Secretary, 
Nsw  York  ;  C,  C.  Harris,  Vice-Prssideni :  W.  T.  Mulli- 
gan, Secretary,  W.  A.  Bibb,  Treasurer,  John  C.  Eyster, 
General  Counsel,  New  Decatur.  For  sale,  or  lease. 

Jenifer  Furnace,  Jenifer  Furnace  Company, 
Jenifer,  Talladega  county.  Central  office,  Anniston. 
One  stack,  56x11,  built  in  1892,  and  blown  in  December 
oth  1892,  taking  the  place  of  the  old  stone  stack  built  in 
1863  ;  two  Hugh  Kennedy  stoves  ;  each  45x16  ;  ore,  local 
brown  hematite  ;  product,  car- wheel  pig  iron;  annual  ca- 
pacity 12,000  gross  tons.  Brand  "Jenifer".  (One 
stack,  built  in  1863,  abandoned  and  dismantled  in  1872)  . 


116          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

John  H.  Noble,  President,  and  John  E.  Ware,  Secretary 
and  Treasurer,  Anniston.  Selling  agents,  Rogers, 
Brown  &  Co.,  Cincinnati,  and  St.  Louis  ;  C.  R.  Baird  & 
Co.,  Phila. 

Langdon  Furnace,  (once  known  '  as  Stonewall 
Furnace.)  The  National  Bank  of  Augusta,  Augusta, 
Ga.  Furnace  at  Langdon,  (P.  0.  address,  Rock  Run 
Station),  Cherokee  county.  One  stack,  42x11,  built  in 
1873,  and  re-built  in  1889-90  ;  blown  in  in  May  1890  ;  one 
stove ;  ore,  local  brown  hematite;  product,  car- wheel 
pig  iron  ;  annual  capacity,  12,000  gross  tons.  Brand, 
11  Langdon ".  For  sale. 

Piedmont  Land  and  Improvement  Company, 
Piedmont,  Calhoun  county.  Commenced  in 
1890  the  erection  of  one  stack,  60x12,  with  two  Gordon- 
Whitwell-Cowper  stoves  ;  work  suspended  in  1891 ;  ex- 
pects to  complete  stack  in  1896.  W.  P.  Smalley,  Presi- 
dent; J.  H.  Ledbetter,  Vice-President ;  R.  L.  Hurt,  Sec- 
retary and  Treasurer. 

Rock  Run  Furnace,  Rock  Run  Iron  and  Mining 
Company,  Rock  Run,  Cherokee  county.  One  stack, 
54.5x11.5,  built  in  1873-4,  enlarged  in  1881  and  1892, 
and  rebuilt  in  1894  ;  warm  blast ;  ore,  local  brown  hem- 
atite ;  product,  car-wheel  "pig  iron ;  annual  capacity. 
15,000  gross  tons.  Brand,  ' 'Rock  Run/'  J.  H.  Bass, 
President,  J.I.  White,  Secretary,  and  F.  S.  Lightfoot, 
Treasurer,  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana;  J.  M.  Garvin.  Super- 
intendent, Rock  Run. 

Round  Mountain  Furnace,  (Formerly  calle4  Round 
Mountain  Iron  Works,")  The  Round  Mountain  Furnace 
Company,  lessee,  Chattanooga,  Tenn.  Furnace  at 
Round  Mountain,  Cherokee  cDunty.  One  stack,  45x9.5, 
built  in  1853,  rebuilt  in  1874,  and  remodeled  in  1888  ; 
cold  blast ;  ore  red  fossilliferous  ;  specialty,  cold  blast 
charcoal  pig  iron  for  chilled  rolls  and  car-wheels  ;  annual 


1TKNACES,    ROLLING     MILLS.    AC,  117 

capaicty,  6,500  gross  tons.  Brand,  " Round  Mountain." 
L.  S.  Colyar,  President ;  Jo.  C.  Guild,  Vice-President : 
E.  Shackelford,  Secretary  ;  E.  B.  Pennington,  Superin- 
tendent. Selling  agents,  Rogers,  Brown  &  Co.,  Cincin- 
nati and  branch  houses;  J.  E.  Cartwright,  St.  Louis. 
Owned  by  the  Elliott  Pig  Iron  Company,  Gadsden. 

Shelby  Furnaces,  Shelby  Iron  Company,  Shelby, 
Shelby  county.  Two  stacks,  Nos.  1  and  2,  each  60x14, 
built  in  1863  and  1873;  No.  1  rebuilt  in  1889;  warm 
blast;  ore,  brown  hematite  obtained  on  the  furnace  prop- 
erty ;  product,  car-wheel  pig  iron  ;  total  annual  capacity, 
40,000  gross  tons.  Brand,  "Shelby."  T.  G.  Bush, 
President,  Anniston  ;  B.  Y.  Frost,  Secretary,  and  W.  S. 
Gurnee,  Treasurer,  80  Broadway,  N..Y.;  E.  T.  Witherby, 
Assistant  Treasurer,  Shelby.  Selling  agents,  Matthew 
Addy  &  Co.,  Cincinnati;  C.  L.  Pierson  &  Co.,  Boston 
and  New  York. 

Tecumseh  Furnace,  Tecumseh  Iron  Company, 
Tecumseh,  Cherokee  county.  One  stack,  60x12,  built  in 
1873,  and  blown  in  February  19th,  1874 ;  hot  blast ;  ore, 
local  brown  hematite;  annual  capacity,  13,500  gross 
tons.  Brand,  "Tecumseh."  P.  N.  Moore,  President; 
S.  J,  Fearing,  Treasurer  and  General  Manager.  Idle 
since  October,  1890;  for  lease. 

Woodstock  Furnace,  Woodstock  Iron  Works,  An- 
niston, Calhoun  county.  One  stack,  50x12,  blown  in 
April  13th,  1893;  rebuilt  in  1880;  hot  blast;  ore,  local 
brown  hematite;  product,  car- wheel  pig  iron;  annual 
capacity,  11,000  gross  tons.  Brand,  "Woodstock." 
(One  stack  partly  destroyed  by  fire  in  1891.)  John  D. 
Probst,  President,  and  George  Glover,  Secretary,  N.  Y. ; 
H.  Atkinson,  Vice-President,  J.  W.  McCullough,  Gen- 
eral Manager,  W.  L.  Doane,  Treasurer  and  Assistant 
Secretary,  Anniston.  May  dismantle  both  stacks. 


118          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

Number  of  charcoal  furnaces  in  Alabama,  12  com- 
pleted stacks,  and  1  stack  partly  erected,  annual  capac- 
ity, 168,500  gross  tons.  Number  of  charcoal  furnaces 
in  the  United  States,  96  ;  annual  capacity,  1,098,550  gross 
tons.  Dividing  the  period  1876-1895,  as  under  coke  fur- 
naces, into  4  sub-periods  of  5  years  each,  we  have  the 
following  comparisons  : 

1876-1880 — charcoal  furnaces  built,  1;  output  in  1876 , 
20,818  tons;  in  1880,  33,693  tons;  increase,  12,875,  or 
1.62  times. 

1881-1885 — charcoal  furnaces  built,  2  ;  output  in  1881, 
39,483  tons  ;  in  1885,  69,261  tons  ;  increase,  29,778  tons, 
or  1.75  times. 

1886-1890 — charcoal  furnaces  built,  4  ;  output  in  1886, 
73,312  tons,  in  1890,*  98 ,528  tons;  increase,  25,216  tons, 
or  1.34  times. 

1891-1895 — charcoal  furnaces  built,  2  ;  output  in  1891, 
77,985  tons  ;  in  1895,  18,816  tons  ;  decrease  59,169  tons, 
or  a  little  more  than  three-fourths. 

Of  the  twelve  completed  charcoal  stacks  in  1895,  4,  or 
33  per  cent,  were  built  in  the  period  1886-1890,  two  in 
1873,  one  in  1874,  and  the  others  as  above.  In  charcoal, 
as  in  coke  furnaces,  the  greatest  activity  was  displayed 
during  the  period  1886-1890,  although  the  activity  in 
coke  furnaces  was  much  more  pronounced.  Alabama  has 
72.5  per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  charcoal  furnaces, 
15.3  per  cent,  of  the  total  annual  capacity,  and  made  in 
1895  8.3  per  cent,  of  the  total  production  of  charcoal 
iron. 

The  charcoal  iron  industry  has  been  declining  {or  sev- 
eral years.  It  reached  its  maximum  in  1889*  with 
98,595  tons.  At  that  time  Alabama  was  producing  17.1 
per  cent,  of  the  total,  and  was  second  in  point  of  pro- 
duction. 

The  statistics  of  production  are  given  in  the  following 
table  : 


FURNACES,    ROLLING    MILLS,  <fcC . 


119 


TABLE  X. 

Product  of  Charcoal  Iron  in   Alabama.     Tons  of  2,240 

Pounds. 


YEAR. 

TONS. 

YEAR. 

TONS. 

YEA.R 

TONS. 

YEAR. 

TONS. 

1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 

11.171 
19.895 
29.342 
22.418 
20.818 
22.180 

1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 

21.422 
28.563 
33.763 
39.483 
49.590 
51.237 

1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 

53.078 
•  69.261 
73.312 
85.020 
84.041 
98.595 

1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 

98.528 
77.985 
79.456 
67.163 
36.078 
18.816 

Hot  Blast  Stoves  in  Alabama— 1896. 


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Rolling  Mills,  Steel  Works,  &c.,  in  Alabama. 

(From  the  Directory  of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Works  in 
the  United  States.  American  Iron  and  Steel  Assoc., 
Phila.,  1896,  Jas.  M.  Swank,  Manager.) 

Alabama  Iron  and  Steel  Company  (Formerly 
Brierfield  Rolling  Mill,)  Brierfield,  Bibb  county.  Built 
in  1863,  rebuilt  in  1882-83,  and  put  in  operation  in 
August,  1883;  10  double  and  4  single  puddling  furnaces, 
5  heating  furnaces,  o  18-inch  trains  of  rolls,  and  72  cut 
nail  machines;  product,  merchant  bar  iron  and  nails; 
annual  capacity,  12,000  gross  tons.  T.  J.  Peter,  Presi- 
dent. 

Alabama  Rolling  Mill  Company,  Bi  rmingham, 
Jefferson  County.  Works  at  Gate  City,  Jefferson 
county.  Built  in  1887-88  and  put  in  operation  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1888  ;  23  single  puddling  furnaces,  2  gas  heating 


1*20  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  O51  ALABAMA. 

furnaces,  and  3  trains  of  rolls  (18-inch  muck  and  8  and 
16  inch  bar);  product,  bars,  bands,  hoops,  light  T  rails, 
&c.  ^annual  capacity,  24,000  gross  tons.  W.  J,  Behan, 
President ;  W.  H.  Hassinger,  Vice-President  and  Gen- 
eral Manager  ;  D.  M.  Forker,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

Alabama  Steel  Works,  (formerly  Fort  Payne 
Rolling  Mill,) The  DeKalb  Company,  lessee,  Fort  Payne, 
DeKalb  county.  Built  in  1889-90;  two  15-grosst  on 
basic  open-hearth  steel  furnaces  ;  first  steel  made  in  July, 
1893;  4  gas  heating  furnaces,  5  cut-nail  machines, 
(idle,)  and  2  trains  of  rolls  (one  2-high  32-inch  revers- 
ing and  one  22-inch  nail  plate)  ;  product  ingots,  blooms f 
billets  and  slabs  ;  annual  capacity,  10,000  gross  tons  of 
ingots.  Fuel  used,  producer  gas.  E.  N.  Culiom,  Presi- 
dent;  H.  A.  Yeaton,  Treasurer;  S.  C.  Adams  Secretary. 
Owned  by-the  Alabama  Steel  Works,  (incorporated) . 

Annisto  Rolling  Mills,  Anniston  Iron  and  Steel 
Company,  lessee,  Anniston,  Calhoun  county.  Built  in 
1890-91 ;  12  single  puddling  furnaces,  '2  large  heating 
furnaces  and  2  trains  of  rolls,  (3-high  20-inch  muck  and 
3-high  12-inch  finishing)  J.  K.  Dimmick,  President;  H. 
B.  Cooper,  Vice-President  and  General  Manager;  John  S. 
Mooring,  Secretary  and  Treasurer.  Owned  by  the  An- 
niston Rolling  Mills  Company. 

Bessemer  (The)  Rolling  Mills,  Bessemer,  Jefferson 
county.  Built  in  1887-88  ;  24  single  puddling  furnaces, 
6  heating  furnaces,  5  trains  of  rolls  (one  20-inch  muck, 
one  8-inch  guide,  one  16-inch  car,  one  22-inch  sheet,  and 
one  26-inch  plate),  and  3  Siemens  gas  producers;  prod- 
uct, bar,  guide,  plate  and  sheet  iron  ;  annual  capacity, 
27,000  gross  tons.  Owned  by  Morris  Adler,  of  Birming- 
ham, and  others.  Idle  since  the  spring  of  1891,  and  for 
sale. 

Birmingham  Rolling  Mills,  Birmingham  Rolling 
Mill  Company,  Birmingham,  Jefferson  county.  Built  in 


FURNACES,  ROLLING    MILLS,  AC  121 

1880,  and  first  put  into  operation  in  July,  1880;  enlarged 
in  1887  and  1895  ;  11  double  and  24  single  puddling  fur- 
naces, one  scrap  furnace,  7  gas,  4  box  annealing,  2  pair, 
and  4  sheet  heating  and  annealing  furnaces,  and  9  trains 
of  rolls,  (two  8-inch  guide,  one  16-inch  bar,  two  18-inch 
forge,  two  24-inch  sheet,  one  26-inch  plate,  and  one  24- 
inch  finishing)  ;  product,  iron  and  steel  bars,  plates, 
sheets,  angles,  round-edge  tire,  small  T  rails,  fish  plates, 
&c. ;  annual  capacity,  70,000  gross  tons.  Fuel  used, 
producer  gas  and  coal.  Contemplates  erecting  an  open 
hearth  steel  plant  (basic).  James  G.  Caldwell,  Presi- 
dent;  Thomas  Ward,  General  Manager;  J.  D.  Dwyer, 
Superintendent ;  J.  H.  Mohns,  Salesman. 

Jefferson  Steel  Company,  Birmingham,  Jefferson 
county.  Built  in  1889-90  ;  one  15-gross  ton  basic  open- 
hearth  steel  furnace  ;  first  steel  made  April  14th,  1890  ; 
product,  ingots;  annual  capacity,  8,100  gross  tons.  Brand 
"Jefferson."  (This  furnace  takes  the  place  of  one  ex- 
perimental Henderson  open-hearth  steel  furnace  built  in 
1887-88,  and  first  steel  made  February  27th,  1888.  For- 
merly operated  by  the  Henderson  Steel  and  Manufactur- 
ing Company.)  Eugene  F.  Erislen,  President;  P.  A. 
Buyck,  Vice-President ;  McK.  Thomas,  Secretary,  Treas- 
urer and  General  Manager. 

Shelby  Rolling  Mill  Company  (formerly  Central 
Iron  Works) ,  Helena,  Shelby  county.  Works  started  in 
March,  1873  ;  enlarged  by  present  company  in  1889  ;  10 
single  puddling  furnaces,  3  heating  furnaces,  and  4  trains 
of  rolls  ;  product,  merchant  bar  and  band  iron,  and  light 
T  rails  ;  annual  capacity,  7,200  gross  tons.  Company 
failed ;  works  idle  for  several  years.  Address,  Joseph 
F.  Johnston,  Birmingham. 

United     States     (The)     Car      Company,     Anniston, 
Calhoun    county.       Chicago  office,     1480    Old    Colony 
8 


122          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

Building  ;  New  York  office,  45  Broadway.  Built  in  1884 
and  enlarged  in  1888-89,  and  1893  ;  one  single  and  six 
double  puddling  furnaces,  six  heating  furnaces,  one  scrap 
furnace,  two  trains  of  rolls  (one  18-inch  muck  and  bar, 
and  one  10-inch  merchant  and  guide),  and  five  hammers 
(one  6,000  lb.,  two  4,000  lb.,  and  two  helve) ;  product, 
car  axles  and  merchant  bar  iron  ;  annual  capacity,  15,000 
gross  tons.  David  Cornfoot,  President,  London,  England; 
Thomas  Sturgis,  Vice-President,  New  York;  J.  M.  Maris, 
General  Manager,  Chicago;  0.  M.  Stinson,  General  Su- 
perintendent, Anniston. 

Steel    Works    Projected. 

Bessemer  Land  and  Improvement  Company,  Bessemer, 
Jefferson  county,  contemplates  erecting  an  open-hearth 
(basic)  steel  plant  at  Bessemer  in  the  spring  or  summer 
of  1896. 

The  Tennessee  Coal,  Iron  &  Railroad  Company,  in 
connection  with  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  Railroad 
Company,  the  Southern  Railway  Company  and  private 
persons  in  Birmingham,,  contemplates  the  erection  of  a 
large  basic  open-hearth  steel  plant  during  1896-97.  Lo- 
cation not  yet  chosen. 

Number  of  rolling  mills  and  steel  works  in  Alabama  : 
Nine  contemplated  and  two  projected.  Of  these,  two 
have  basic  open-hearth  steel  plants,  and  two  more  are 
projected. 

No  steel  was  made  in  the  state  in  1894  or  in  ]  895.  The 
total  amount  made  from  1888  to  the  close  of  1893  will 
not  exceed  4,000  gross  tons.  ^ 

Annual  capacity  of  rolling  mills,  173,300  gross  tons 
with  one  mill  not  reporting.  Allowing  10,000  gross  tons 
for  this  one,  the  total  annual  capacity  is  183,300  gross 
tons. 


FURNACES,  ROLLING  MILLS,    &C .  123 

Production  in    189-1. 

Xumber  of  completed  rolling  mills  and  steel  works  in 
the  United  States,  January  1st,  1896,  505;  annual  ca- 
pacity, double  turn,  14,763,920  gross  tons. 

Forges  and  Bloomaries. 

Anniston  Bloomary,  Cherokee  Iron  Company,  Cedar- 
town,  Georgia.  Works  at  Anniston,  Calhoun  county. 
Built  in  1887  ;  five  forge  fires  and  one  hammer ;  steam 
power;  product,  blooms  made  from  pig  iron.  Idle. 
Wm.  C.  Browning,  President,  and  J.  Hull  Browning, 
Treasurer,  408  Broome  St.,  N.  Y. ;  J.  R.  Barber,  Secre- 
sary  and  General  Manager,  Cedartown,  Georgia. 

Pipe  Works,  Car  Wheel   Works  and  Miscellaneous. 
Bridge    Building  Works. 

Southern  Bridge  Company,  Birmingham.  Works  at 
A vondale,  Jefferson  county.  Highway  bridges.  Annual 
capacity,  500  tons. 

Gas  and^Water  Pipe  Works. 

Anniston  Pipe  Works,  Anniston  Pipe  and  Foundry 
Company,  Anniston,  Calhoun  county.  Sizes  from  3  to 
30  inches.  Daily  melting  capacity,  200  tons. 

Chattanooga  Foundry  and  Pipe  Works,  Chattanooga, 
Tenn.  Works  at  Bridgeport,  Jackson  county.  Sizes, 
from  14  to  36  inches,  inclusive.  Daily  melting  capacity, 
125  tons. 

Howard-Harrison  Iron  Company,  Bessemer,  Jeffer- 
son county.  Sizes,  from  3  to  60  inches,  inclusive.  Daily 
melting  capacity,  300  tons. 


124         GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

Soil   and   Plumbers'  Pipe  Works. 

Alabama  Pipe  Company,  Bessemer,  Jefferson  county. 
Sizes,  from  2  to  6  inches,  inclusive.  Daily  melting  ca- 
pacity, 30  tons. 

Birmingham  Soil  Pipe  Works,  Birmingham  Soil  Pipe 
Company,  Birmingham,  Jefferson  county.  Sizes,  from 
2  to  8  inches.  Daily  melting  capacity,  10  tons. 

Gadsden  Foundry  and  Machine  Works,  Gadsden, 
Etowah  county.  Sizes,  from  2  to  6  inches.  Daily  melt- 
ing capacity,  10  tons. 

Hercules  Foundry,  E.  L.  Tyler  &  Co.,  lessees,  An- 
niston,  Calhoun  county.  Sizes,  from  2  to  12  inches. 
Daily  melting  capacity,  50  tons. 

Car  Axle  Works. 

Peacock's  Iron  Works,  George  Peacock,  Selma,  Dal- 
las county.  Iron  and  steel  mine  car  axles.  Annual 
capacity,  15,000. 

United  States  (the)  Car  Company,  Anniston,  Cal- 
houn county.  Office,  1480  Old  Colony  Building,  Chicago ; 
45  Broadway,  N.  Y.  Car  and  locomotive  axles.  Daily- 
capacity,  120. 

Car  Wheel  Works. 

Decatur  Car  Wheel  and  Manufacturing  Company, 
New  Decatur,  Morgan  county.  Product,  chilled,  cast- 
iron  wheels.  Annual  capacity  75,000,  Removing  to 
Birmingham. 

Elliott  i (the)  Car  Company,  Gadsden,  EtoJ^vah 
county.  Product,  standard  railroad  car  wheels.  Annual 
capacity,  48,000. 

Hood  Machine  Company,  Birmingham,  Jefferson 
county.  Product,  small  tram  wheels  for  mining  cars. 
Annual  capacity,  about  12,000. 


FURNACES,  ROLLING  MILLS,  <fcC.  125 

« 

Peacock's  Iron  Works,  George  Peacock,  Selma,  Dal- 
las county.  Product,  all  kinds  of  small  car  wheels. 
Annual  capacity,  35,000  self-oiling  and  15,000  plate 
wheels. 

Carbuilding  Works. 

Elliott  (the)  Car  Company,  Gadsden,  Etowah  county. 
Freight  cars.  Annual  capacity,  3,600. 

Peacock's  Iron  Works,  George  Peacock,  Selma,  Dal- 
las county.  Mine,  logging  and  other  small  cars.  An- 
nual capacity,  5,000. 

Union  Iron  Works  Company,  Selma,  Dallas  county. 
Logging,  push,  cane  and  other  small  cars.  Annual  ca- 
pacity, 1,200. 

United  States  (the)  Car  Company,  Anriiston.  Of- 
ffices,  1480  Old  Colony  Building,  Chicago  ;  45  Broadway, 
N.  Y.;  works  at  Anniston  and  New  Decatur.  Annual 
capacity,  4,500  freight  cars  at  each  place. 


126          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

V 

t 

CHAPTER  VII. 
PIG  IRON;  MARKET,  GRADING,  ETC. 


THE  PIG  IRON  MARKET  ;   ITS  EXTENT  AND  How  TO  IM- 
PROVE IT. 

BY 
JAMES  BOWRON,  Birmingham,  Ala. 

(Proc.  Ala.  Indust.  and  Sci.  Soc.  Vol.  V,  1895,  pp.  30-35.} 
The  extent  of  the  market  for  southern  pig  iron  is  very 
remarkable.  According  to  the  statistics  published  by 
Mr.  Swank,  of  the  American  Iron  and  Steel  Association, 
there  were  produced  in  the  year  1894,  6,657,388  gross 
tons  of  pig  iron,  of  which  120,180  tons  were  spiegeleisen 
and  ferromanganese,  leaving  6,537,208  tons  to  represent 
all  of  the  iron  produced  in  the  United  States  for  melting, 
or  puddling.  There  were  also  produced  in  the  same  year 
4,412,032  tons  of  steel  of  various  kinds.  The  production 
of  this  steel  would  require  more  than  a  corresponding 
number  of  tons  of  iron,  so  as  to  allow  for  the  waste  in- 
cident to  any  method  of  conversion ;  but  as  this  is  a 
commercial  and  not  a  scientific  paper,  I  am  content  to 
offset  the  above  mentioned  tonnage  of  spiegeleisen  and 
ferro  against  the  waste  incurred  in  conversion,  and  sim- 
ply to  deduct  the  4,412,032  tons  of  steel  from  the  Avail- 
able tonnage  of  iron,  which  leaves  2,125,176  tons  avail- 
able for  foundry  and  forge  purposes.  This  may  be  con- 
sidered to  represent  the  American  market  during  the  re- 
stricted and  unusual  year  of  1894,  for  the  importations 
of  foreign  pig  iron  were  only  15,582  tons,  consisting 
mainly  of  Scotch,  but  including  some  Swedish  pig  iron. 


127 

The  production  in  Alabama  in  1894  was  592,392  tons, 
and  in  Tennessee  212,773  tons,  being  805,165  altogether. 

This  production  for  Alabama  represents  27.8  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  consumption  of  the  United  States,  of  pig 
iron  apart  from  that  used  in  the  manufacture  of  steel ; 
and  for  Tennessee  a  similar  production  of  10  per  cent., 
being  for- the  two  States  an  aggregate  of  37.8  per  cent. 

Without  entering  into  any  labored  comparisons  with 
other  States  or  districts,  this  percentage  is  quite  suffi- 
cient to  show  the  commanding  position  taken  by  these 
districts  in  the  general  foundry  and  rolling  mill  trade, 
This  is  emphasized  by  the  wide  area  over  which  the  iron 
is  distributed. 

I  give  at  this  point  the  two  following  tables,  showing 
the  distribution  by  the  Tennessee  Coal,  Iron  &  Railroad 
Company  for  the  calendar  year  1888,  and  for  the  twelve 
months  ending  July  1st,  1895  : 

1888.  1895. 

Tuns  of  -2240  Ibs.  Tons  of  2240  Ibs. 

Alabama 15,790  Alabama ' 89,054 

Arkansas 122  Arkansas 308 

California 150  California 842 

Colorado 1,200  Colorado 158 

Connecticut 1,505  Connecticut.. 1,950 

Delaware 36  Delaware 360 

Georgia 18  Dist.  of  Columbia.  .       293 

Illinois 16,193  Florida 60 

Indiana 9,599  Georgia 1 ,910 

Iowa 2,300  Illinois 38,736 

Kansas 383  Indiana 28,047 

Kentucky 19,808  Iowa 2,251 

.Louisiana 588  Kansas 1,034 

Maryland 268  Kentucky 48,376 

Massachusetts 3,929  Louisiana 


128 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OP  ALABAMA. 


1888.  1895. 

Michigan 16,582  Maine 1,925 

Minnesota 70  Maryland 4,748 

Mississippi 155  Massachusetts 4,456 


Nebraska..  . 234 

New    Jersey 1,820 

New  York 22,495 

North    Carolina...  15 

Ohio 65,561 

Pennsylvania 6,777 

Rhode  Island 818 

Tennessee 13,184 

Texas 221 

West  Virginia 387 

Wisconsin .  ,  818 


Total  Domestic.. 224 ,634 


Foreign  in  1895. 

Canada 2,034 

England 250 

Italy 17 

Nova  Scotia 40 

Mexico  .  357 


2,698 


Michigan 28,170 

Minnesota 612 

Mississippi 560 

Missouri 29,851 

Nebraska 276 

New  Hampshire.  .  .  295 

New   Jersey 31,965 

New  York., 44,690 

North  Carolina 1,102 

Ohio 136,487 

Oregon 685 

Pennsylvania 27,215 

Rhode  Island 645 

South  Carolina.  ...  57 

Tennessee 30,368 

Texas 1 ,605 

Vermont 800 

Virginia 580 

Washington 50 

West  Virginia 18 

Wisconsin 9,038 


Total  Domestic.  .  .570,212 
Total  Foreign 2,698 


Total    Domestic 

and  Foreign.  .572,910 

An  examination  of  these  tables    shows  the    following 
interesting  points  :  * 

1st.     That   the   number   of    States  consuming    these 
brands  of  Southern  iron  increased  in  six  years  from    30 


PIG  IRON  ;   MARKET,  GRADING,  KTC.  129 

to  39,  besides  the  addition  of  five  foreign  countries. 

2d.  That  the  home  consumption  had  so  far  increased 
that  Alabama  moved  up  from  7th  in  progressive  im- 
portance to  2nd,  and  Tennessee  from  8th  to  7th.  This 
is  a  point  of  supreme  importance,  for  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  Birmingham  iron  ranges  from  Mexico  to 
Canada,  and  from  San  Francisco  to  Liverpool,  it  is  obvi- 
ous that  distant  markets  can  only  be  controlled  by  the 
sacrifice  of  profits,  and  that  it  is  to  the  development  of 
the  home  market,  that  can  be  reached  without  the  pay- 
ment of  intervening  freight  charges,  that  we  must  look 
for  our  profitable  business. 

Obviously,  therefore,  everything  that  producers  of  pig 
iron  in  this  district  can  do  should  be  done  to  advance  the 
interests  of  rolling  mills,  pipe  works,  machine  foundries, 
<fcc.,  which  are  located  beside  us.  We  should  advertise  their 
products,  give  them  our  patronage,  become  personaly 
familiar  with  the  character  of  their  business,  quality  of 
the  iron  they  use,  their  methods  of  treatment,  the  stocks 
they  carry,  and  deliver  to  them  the  quantity  and  quality 
of  iron  that  will  subserve  their  necessities. 

There  are  three  ways  in  which  the  market  for  Ala- 
bama iron  may  be  enlarged,  namely:  the  development 
of  (a)  the  home  market ;  (6)  the  domestic  ;  (c)  the  for- 
eign. 

(a)  For  the  enlargement  of  the  home  market  it  is 
necessary  for  us  to  bring  continually  under  the  notice  of 
manufacturers  in  other  parts  of  the  country  the  advan- 
tages which  our  cheap  iron  and  coal,  our  mild  climate, 
and  reliable  labor  afford.  This  is  doubtless  done  at  pres- 
ent, with  perfect  loyalty  to  the  district,  by  the  gentle- 
men who  are  interested  in  it,  but  necessarily  in  a  manner 
which  is  more  or  less  desultory ;  and  if  we  had  a  well- 
organized  iron  trade  association  the  work  might  be  done 
continuously  and  systematically.  Many  of  the  largest 
consumers  of  our  iron  have  never  been  in  the  South,  and 


130  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

their  attention  has  not  been  personally  directed  to  the 
consideration  of  the  removal  of  their  existing  plants,  or 
the  establishment  of  new  ones.  A  thoroughly  intelligent 
representative  of  the  district  might  be  sent 
to  call  upon  and  make  a  presentation  of  our  case  to  such 
consumers  at  a  distance  as  might  be  selected  by  the  asso- 
ciation. Facts  and  figures  in  the  same  direction  should 
be  submitted  in  every  case  where  a  northern  consumer 
of  our  iron  is  burned  out  and  compelled  to  rebuild. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  chief  direction  in  which 
our  efforts  should  be  united,  is  to  impress  upon  the  pro- 
ducers of  basic  open  hearth  steel  the  advantage  to  accrue 
to  them  from  the  consumption  of  our  metal  at  the  point 
of  production,  where,  if  desired,  it  can  be  furnished  hot. 
With  the  establishment  of  such  a  plant,  works  for  the 
production  of  boiler  plates,  sheets  for  tinning,  bars, 
structural  and  bridge  work,  wire  rods,  and  railroad  ma- 
terial will  readily  follow. 

(6)  For  the  enlargement  of  the  domestic  market,  the 
most  desirable  thing  to  be  done,  in  my  judgment,  is  to 
secure  uniformity  in  grading  and  naming  iron,  and  sell- 
ing it  upon  terms  of  uniformity.  It  is  very  unsatisfac- 
tory to  the  consumer  in  Canada  or  Minnesota  to  buy  a 
car  load  of  forge  iron  for  foundry  purposes,  and  next 
month  to  buy  from  another  producer  a  car  load  of  No.  2 
soft  and  find  that  it  contains  less  silicon  and  is  less  fluid. 

It  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say  that  the  whole  question 
of  grading  iron  is  assuming  a  more  complex  condition, 
and  if  it  is  not  in  a  somewhat  chaotic  state,  the  minds 
of  some  of  the  graders  have  attained  that  undesirable 
goal !  Harassed  by  the  pressure  of  evil  times  and  the 
desire  of  consumers  for  something  cheaper,  the  effort  has 
been  continually  made  not  to  split  hairs,  but  to  split 
grades  in  a  corresponding  degree  of  fineness.  This 
leads  to  an  absence  of  physical  or  chemical  lines  of  de- 
marcation, and  makes  the  question  of  grading  depend 


PIG  IRON  ;    MARKET,  GRADING,  ETC.  131 

• 

more  than  ever  on  the  individual  opinions  of  the  maker 
and  consumer,  who  naturally  look  at  it  from  different 
standpoints,  and  arrive  at  different  results.  This  leads 
to  considerable  friction,  and  in  the  long  run  Southern 
iron  gets  a  bad  name.  With  the  organization,  as  before 
suggested,  of  a  strong  local  trade  association,  the  names 
of  the  grades  could  be  definitely  agreed  upon,  and  ar- 
rangements made  for  at  least  monthly  or  bi-monthly  in- 
terchange of  visits  from  one  works  to  another,  so  that 
the  members  might  agree  on  the  maintenance  of  a  com- 
mon standard,  and  correct  discrepancies  aud  divergen- 
cies from  it. 

(c)  The  question  of  developing  a  foreign  market  is 
one  which  at  some  future  day  will  be  of  very  great  inter- 
est. When  prices  of  Birmingham  iron  were  at  the  lowest 
notch,  on  April  1st,  18^5,  it  was  then  possible  to  put 
iron  for  export  f.  o.  b.  ships  at  tide  water  in  Pensacola 
or  Mobile  Harbor,  $2,00  per  ton  below  the  corresponding 
value  of  the  cheapest  English  iron,  and  it  was  found 
practicable  to  lay  down  iron  in  Liverpool,  grade  for 
grade,  at  less  than  the  price  of  Middlesboro  iron  shipped 
across  England  to  that  point.  The  facts  also  developed 
that  at  those  figures  we  have  for  Alabama  iron  an  ex- 
ceedingly good  chance  for  competition  in  all  Mediter- 
ranean ports,  very  large  quantities  of  iron  being  shipped 
from  England  to  Barcelona ;  Genoa,  Civita  Vecchia,  and 
other  Italian  ports. 

This  iron  may  be  shipped  in  conjunction  with  steam 
coal  or  foundry  coke.  It  would  be  an  experiment  of 
somewhat  doubtful  outcome  as  to  whether  the  coke 
might,  by  the  rolling  of  the  vessel  in  an  Atlantic  voyage, 
be  unreasonably  broken  up  in  comparison  with  the 
shorter  voyage  sustained  by  the  English  coke  ;  but,  if 
not,  there  is  room  for  the  shipment  of  Alabama  coal  and 
coke,  in  competition  with  English,  into  Mediterranean 
ports,  although  it  is  fair  to  say  that  there  has  not  yet 


132  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

• 

been  a  profit  demonstrable  in  that  business. 

The  main  difficulty,  however,  in  the  development  of  a 
European  market  for  our  iron  is  and  will  be  the  com- 
manding of  marine  tonnage  ;  and  any  other  business  that 
could  be  grouped  with  pig  iron,  such  as  the  exportation 
to  Spain  or  Italy  of  coal  or  coke,  or  either,  to  Genoa, 
Bremen  or  Havre  of  cotton  will  materially  facilitate  the 
solution  of  the  difficulty. 

Whenever  our  prices  for  iron  fall  again  so  as  to  bring 
them  below  the  parity  of  English  figures,  we  should  com- 
mence to  work  on  ship  brokers,  and  get  in  touch  with 
both  regular  established  lines  of  steamers,  and  also 
•"'tramp"  steamers  and  sailing  ships.  The  same  remarks 
apply  with  as  great  force  to  the  less  importaht  markets 
of  Bombay,  Calcutta,  Melbourne,  Yokohama  and  others. 
These  markets  are  dominated,  in  pig  iron,  iron  pipe, 
coal  and  coke,  by  the  English  because  of  the  present  ex- 
change of  commodities,  which  has  settled  steamers  and 
sailing  ships  in  certain  marine  lanes  of  travel,  from 
which  it  will  require  patience  and  perseverance  on  our 
part  to  divert  them. 


GRADING   COKE  IRON. 

THE  GRADING  OF  BIRMINGHAM  PIG  IRON. 
BY  I 

KENNETH   ROBERTSON,  BIRMINGHAM,  ALA. 

(Trans.  Amer.  Inst.  Min.  Engrs.,  1888-1889,  Vol.  XVII t 
pp.  94-96.) 

All  strangers  visiting  this  district  are  struck  with  the 


PIG  IRON;  MARKET,  GRADING,  ETC. 

peculiar  manner  in  which  the  pig  iron  is  graded.  There 
are  eleven  regular  grades,  besides  which,  when  gray 
forge  is  ordered,  one-half  of  Nos.  1  and  2  Mill  are  shipped. 
Occasionally  there  is  another  grade  known  as  Silver  Mill, 
which  is  made  so  seldom  that  I  can  not  describe  it,  and 
have  no  sample  to  exhibit. 

Most  of  you  have  found  it  difficult  to  grade  properly 
and  uniformly  under  the  simpler  system  which  obtains 
elsewhere,  and  can  consequently  readily  imagine  the  in- 
creased difficulty  with  us.  Each  furnace  employs  an 
"expert,"  and  even  with  this  precaution  the  system  is 
not  conducive,  at  all  times,  to  amicable  relations  between 
buyers  and  sellers.  I  am  told  that  it  was  adopted  at  the 
time  Southern  irons  were  seeking  a  market ;  but  it  still 
remains,  although  the  time  has  come  when  our  iron  is 
sought  for,  and  has  obtained  for  itself  a  place  in  the  mar- 
kets of  the  country.  The  grades  are  as  follows  : 

No.  1  Foundry ,  a  large-grained,  dark-colored  iron  with 
crystallization  extending  well  out  to  the  edges  of  the  pig. 
In  my  experience  but  little  of  it  is  made,  and  I  am  in- 
clined to  regard  it  as  more  of  a  freak  than  a  product. 
An  average  of  three  analyses  shows  3.66  per  cent,  of 
silicon  in  this  grade. 

No.  2  Foundry  is  the  equivalent  of  a  No.  1  Foundry  at 
the  North.  An  average  of  eighteen  analyses  gives  3.02 
per  cent,  of  silicon. 

No.  £\  Foundry  corresponds  to  No.  2  Foundry  else- 
where. An  average  of  eight  analyses  shows  3.02  per 
cent,  of  silicon. 

No.  1  J////  is  also  known  as  No.  3  Foundry,  and  in  it 
are  included  irons  which  are  not  good  enough  for  2-J- 
Foundry,  and  also  those  which  are  equal  to  what  is 
known  as  gray  forge  in  the  Lehigh  Valley  and  vicinity. 
The  best  of  this  iron  is  used  for  foundry  purposes.  An 
average  of  four  analyses  gives  2.87  per  cent,  of  silicon. 

No.  2  Mill  is  between  1  Mill  and  Mottled,  and  contains 
2.44  per  cent,  of  silicon  as  an  average. 


334  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

No.  1  C  is  open-grained  silver-gray.  I  have  but  one 
analysis,  which  shows  5.25  per  cent,  of  silicon. 

No.  2  C  is  close-grained  silver-gray.  Average  of  three 
analyses,  7.09  per  cent,  of  silicon. 

No.  1  Bright  is  a  foundry  iron  which  is  light  in  color 
but  open-grained.  It  is  made  by  every  furnace  man  in 
every  district,  at  times  ;  but  it  is  only  in  this  section  that 
it  is  separated  from  the  foundry  irons.  Elsewhere  it 
would  be  shipped  as  No.  1  Foundry.  Average  of  three 
analyses,  3.69  per  cent,  of  silicon. 

No.  2.  Bright  is  one  grade  lower;  is  closer-grained  ;  and 
the  average  of  fourteen  analyses  is  3.11  per  cent,  of  sili- 
con. Elsewhere  it  would  be, a  No.  2  Foundry. 

To  complete  the  number  we  have  Mottled  and  White, 
which  are  the  same  here  as  elsewhere. 

An  idea  has  been  prevalent  for  a  long  time  that 
Southern  irons  are  highly  siliconized  and  weak  ;  that 
the  product  of  the  furnaces  is  not  foundry,  but  chiefly  of 
lower  grades  ;  and  that  the  lower  grades  are  sold  with 
difficulty. 

The  preceding  analyses  show  that  the  foundry-irons 
do  not  contain  more  silicon  than  irons  of  thesairn  grade 
in  other  districts  ;  the  mill  irons  are  higher  in  silicon 
than  those  of  Glendon  and  Andover,  but  are  sold  without 
difficulty.  As  to  the  product  of  the  furnaces,  I  will  give 
the  percentages  of  each  grade  which  one  of  the  furnaces 
under  my  charge  made  during  ten  months'  working  un- 
der very  disadvantageous  circumstances. 

Other  furnace  in  the  district  have  undoubtedly  done 
much  better  ;  and  these  figures  are  not  given  as  typical, 
but  merely  to  show  that  we  do  make  foundry  ilia,  and 
that  the  greater  portion  of  our  product  is  not  of  lower 
grades.  The  average  of  twenty-seven  determinations  of 
phosphorus  is  0.66  per  cent. 

Percentage  of  Grades  made  : 


PIG  IRON  J   MARKET,  GRADIN  135 

No.  1    Foundry 0.27 

No.  2  "        26.23 

"    2±         "        19.48 

"  1       Mill        33.82 

"   2         "  6.85 

"1         C 0.56 

"2         " .1      1.39 

"   1     Bright 6.07 

"2         "  2.76 

Mottled  2.38 

White  0.19 

100.00 

Calling  the  Bright  irons  foundry,  which  they  are,  the 
proportion  of  foundry-iron  made  was  54.81  per  cent.  ; 
probably  half  the  1  Mill  would  have  been  classed  as 
foundry  elsewhere.  The  results  are  not  considered  as 
the  neplus  ultra  of  furnace  work,  but  will  show  what  we 
are  doing,  and  also  that  the  impression  that  but  little 
foundry  iron  is  made  here  is  erroneous, 


(This  paper  was  prepared  for  the  Birmingham  meet- 
ing of  the  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers, 
May,  1888.  At  that  time  the  prices,  f.  o.  b.  furnace, 
Birmingham  district,  for  the  various  grades  given  were 
about  as  follows,  per  ton  of  2,240  Ibs. : 

No.  1    F $14.50 

;<    2    F 14.00 

"    24-  F 13.90 

"    3    F 13.75 

"    1  M 12.50 

'•    2  M 10.50 

"    1   C. 

"    2   C 

"    1   Bright 15.00 


136          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

"    2    Bright.. 11.75 

Mottled 11.00 

White    9.00 

The  freight  rates  to  various  important  points  were  as 
follows,  car  load  lots:  Cleveland,  $4.00;  Cincinnati, 
$2.75  j  Chicago,  $4.00;  Columbus,  0.,  $3.15;  Boston, 
$3.86  ;  New  York,  $3.86  ;  Phila.,  $3.86  ;  San  Diego,  Cal., 
$21.87;  Wheeling,  $4.50;  Moline,  111.,  $5.12;  Green- 
castle,  Ind.,  $3.40. 

W.    B.    P.) 


THE  PROPER  GRADING  OF  SOUTHERN  PIG  IRON 

BY 

91 

A.  E.  BARTON,  ENSLEY,  ALA. 
(Proc.  Ala.  Indust.  &  Sci.  Soc.,  Vol.  Ill,  1893,  pp.  35-39.) 

When  requested  by  our  president  to  prepare  a  paper 
to  read  at  the  present  meeting  of  the  Society,  I  felt  that 
I  had  not  sufficient  time  at  my  disposal  for  such  a  task ; 
but  was  told  that  all  that  was  necessary  was  to  bring 
forward  some  subject  for  discussion. . 

The  question  as  to  the  proper  grading  of  Southern  Pig 
Iron  is  an  important  one  in  these  times  of  depression, 
and  it  is  necessary  that  the  maker  should  take  inio  con- 
sideration the  special  needs  of  the  customer  more  than 
has  hitherto  been  done. 

Many  consumers  are  now  calling  the  chemist  to  their 
aid,  and  look  more  to  the  chemical  composition  of  the 
pig  than  to  fracture.  Some,  however,  still  remain  in 


i'i<;  IRON;  MARKET,  <;RAIHN<;,  ETC.  137 

the  old  groove,  and  are  giifded  altogether  by  the  strength 
of  the  iron  and  appearance  of  the  fracture  when  broken, 
which  guide  is  often  misleading. 

If  \ve  look  back  some  twenty-five  years,  we  find  m;i 
firms  in  Scotland  and  in  the  Middlesboro  district  of  Eng- 
land, offering  only  two  grades  of  iron— Foundry  and 
jrorge — the  iron  all  being  shipped  ''long,"  and  only  an 
occasional  pig  being  broken.  The  requirements  of  cus- 
tomers soon  called  for  an  extension  of  these  grades,  and 
six  grades  were  recognized — three  of  Foundry,  i.e.,  1,2, 
and  3  ;  and  three  of  Forge,  i.  e.,  Gray  Forge,  Mottled 
and  White.  Under  certain  conditions  in  the  working  of 
the  furnaces,  a  light  colored  weak  iron  was  made,  which 
the  furnace  men  called  "bright  iron."  This  iron  was  at 
first  very  little  in  demand,  and  when  sold  brought  a  very 
much  lower  price  than  the  Foundry  grades  proper. 

Occasionally,  when  the  stock  used  was  of  inferior 
quality  and  the  fuel  consumption  high,  a  still  weaker 
iron  would  be  made,  which,  from  its  peculiar  fracture, 
was  called  ' 'glazed  pig,"  and  was  generally  put  back 
into  the  furnace  as  being  unsaleable.  It  was  noticed 
that  when  this  pig  was  used  as  scrap  in  the  furnace,  the 
quality  of  the  iron  made  seemed  to  improve  and  become 
more  open  in  grain.  Prof.  Turner,  of  Birmingham, 
England,  gave  this  matter  considerable  attention,  and 
discovered  that  when  a  certain  proportion  of  the  glazed 
pig  was  mixed  with  a  hard  iron  and  melted  in  a  cupola, 
it  had  a  tendency  to  open  the  grain  and  make  the  iron 
softer,  and  that  " bright"  iron  brought  about  the  same 
result  in  a  modified  degree.  After  another  research,  it 
was  found  that  the  large  amount  of  silicon  contained  in 
the  "bright, "and  "glazed"  pig  was  responsible  for  the 
result,  and  it  found  that  by  the  use  of  these  irons  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  scrap  could  be  used  in  foundry  mix- 
ture which ,  by  repeated  melting,  had  become  too  hard 
9 


138          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

to  use  alone,  and  only  in  small  proportions  when  mixed 
with  foundry  iron.  After  this,  "bright,"  and  "glazed" 
pig  found  a  ready  sale,  and  several  grades  of  bright  and 
silvery  iron  were  established. 

Some  six  or  seven  years  ago  there  were  fifteen  recog- 
nized grades  of  Southern  iron,  as  follows  :  Open  silvery; 
close  silvery  ;  open  bright ;  medium  bright ;  close  bright;  1 
foundry;  2  foundry;  2i  foundry;  3  foundry  ;  extra  1  mill ; 
1  mill ;  2  mill ;  silvery  mill ;  mottled  ;  and  white. 

About  five  years  ago  it  was  decided,  at  a  meeting  of 
Southern  Iron  Masters,  that  a  revision  of  grades  was 
necessary,  and  that  the  South  had  too  many  grades,  and 
the  following  change  was  made  ;  Open,  and  close  silvery 
were  continued  and  called  silver  gray;  open,  medium 
and  closed  bright  were,  condensed  into  two  grades  and 
called  Nos.  1  and  2  soft ;  No.  2  foundry  was  called  No.  1 
foundry,  and  the  old  No.  1  foundr}^,  which  was  a  very 
open  iron  and  seldom  made,  was  mixed  in  with  the  old 
No.  2  foundry;  No.  2|-  and  No.  3  foundry  were  mixed 
together  and  called  No.  2  foundry  ;  extra  1  mill  became 
No.  3  foundry;  Nos.  1  and  2  mill  were  continued  and 
called  gray  forge  ;  silvery  mill  was  no  longer  recognized 
as  a  grade.  Mottled  and  white  remained  the  same. 

This  alteration  in  the  classification  caused  a  good  deal 
of  confusion  and  many  complaints  from  customers.  Old 
buyers  of  Southern  iron  complained  that  the  silver  gray 
shipped  was  "mixed,"  and  to  any  one  grading  by  frac- 
ture alone  it  certainly  looked  mixed.  The  two  irons, 
however,  are  practically  identical  in  composition  chemi- 
cally, the  close  flaky  iron  generally  running  slightly  the 
highest  in  silicon,  which  will  vary  from  4  to  5i  per  cent., 
and  both  are  somewhat  low  in  total  carbon. 

To  meet  the  wishes  of  a  certain  class  of  customers,  the 
old  method  of  grading  silver  gray  has  gradually  been 
adopted  by  producers,  and  we  have  now  two  grades  of 
silvery  iron  recognized,  Nos.  1  and  2,  corresponding  to 


139 

ihe  old  open,  and  close.  In  soft  irons,  the  openest  pigs 
of  medium  bright  were  thrown  into  1  soft,  and  the 
remainder  called  2  soft.  The  latter  can  not  be  graded 
so  uniformly  as  to  fracture  as  could  be  desired,  for  this 
reason,  and  is  considered  by  many  buyers  as  an  off  grade. 

Soft  iron  should  contain  from  3  to  4  per  cent,  of  silicon, 
and  be  practically  free  from  sulphur,  whilst  the  carbon, 
though  not  so  high  as  in  the  foundry  grades,  runs  higher 
than  in  silver  gray,  combined  carbon  being  usually  about 
the  half  of  1  per  cent.;  and  graphite  2  to  2i  per  cent,  in 
No.  1  soft,  and  t  of  one  per  cent.,  and  li  per  cent.,  re- 
spectively, in  No.  2  soft. 

Soft  iron  is  used  as  a  softener  in  mixtures,  and  to  use 
up  scrap,  and  is  essentially  siliceous.  One  mistake, 
often  made  by  the  grader,  is  to  class  as  No.  2  soft  the 
pigs  from  a  foundry  cast  that  have  been  chilled  during 
their  course  down  a  long  runner,  and  have,  from  this 
cause,  a  light  colored  appearance,  with  a  close  edge. 
These  pigs  generally  run  about  2  per  cent,  in  silicon, 
and  should  be  graded  either  as  2  or  3  foundry.  Care 
should  also  be  taken  with  the  grading  of  1  soft,  for  the 
same  reason.  Recently  a  pig  was  graded  by  those  com- 
petent graders  as  1  soft,  by  fracture  alone,  without  see- 
ing the  pig  broken,  and  on  analyses  it  showed  1.12-J-  per 
cent.,  silicon,  and  was  not  a  soft  iron  at  all.  Many 
buyers,  however,  would  have  rejected  a  car  of  such  iron 
on  sight,  if  shipped  to  them^as  2  foundry,  and  would 
Ikave  used  it  as  1  soft,  probably  with  disastrous  results. 
The  grading  of  the  three  straight  foundry  grades  does 
not  require  much  comment.  The  standard  amount  of 
silicon  in  each  grade  should  be  about  as  follows  :  1  foun- 
dry, 2.75  per  cent. ;  2  foundry,  2.50  per  cent.;  and  3 
foundry,  2.00  per  cent.  ;  and  these  contents  should  be 
maintained  as  nearly  as  possible  by  repeated  analyses 
and  changes  in  the  burden  of  the  furnace,  when  neces- 
sary. It  was  in  forge  iron  that  the  change  in  the  grad- 


140          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

ing  caused  the  greatest  trouble.  Until  lately,  the  fur- 
naces of  the  district  made  sufficient  gray  forge  iron,  in 
endeavoring  to  make  foundry  irons,  to  meet  all  demands, 
and  the  forge  iron  thus  made  was  apt  to  be  high  in  sili- 
con, and  very  wasteful  for  rolling  mill  iron,  though  suit- 
able as  a  mixture  in  pipe  works  and  foundries,  and  com- 
plaints from  rolling  mills  that  had  been  using  No.  2  mill 
came  in  thick  and  fast.  Pipe  works  would  also  get  a 
car  of  said  iron  occasionally,  and  the  furnace  would  gen- 
erally hear  about  it. 

Graders  soon  saw  the  impracticability  of  having  only 
one  grade  of  Gray  Forge,  and  tacitly  made  two  grades 
in  their  yard,  though  only  one  was  recognized;  ascer- 
taining before  making  shipment  if  the  Gray  Forge  was 
to  go  to  rolling  mill  or  foundry,  and  shipping  accord- 
ingly 2  mill,  or  1  mill.  These  two  grades  are  now  gen- 
erally recognized,  being  called  Gray  Forge,  and  Foundry 
Forge,  the  former  being  a  much  harder  iron,  lower  in. 
silicon  and  higher  in  combined  carbon,  with  a  different 
crystal. 

As  blast  furnace  practice  inproves  in  the  South,  and 
the  iron  making  materials  are  more  carefully  selected, 
the  furnaces  will  be  kept  more  steadily  in  one  grade  of 
iron,  and  the  iron  will  become,  and  is  now  becoming, 
more  improved  ;  and  should  the  demand  justify  it,  the 
furnaces  will  be  run  with  the  express  purpose  of  making 
low  silicon  Gray  Forge,  similar  to  the  Northern  prac- 
tice. 

A  considerable  portion  of  this  paper  will  be  ancienfe 
history  to  many  here,  but  it  brings  forward  a  very  im- 
portant subject — a  subject  which  until  lately  has  haAlly 
been  given  the^attention  it  deserved — that  of  giving  cus- 
tomers uniform  iron,  and  iron  best  suited  to  their  special 
needs,  and  removing  the  stigma  that  a  buyer  of  Southern 
iron  never  quite  knows  what  he  is  going  to  get. 


PIG  IRON;  MARKET,  GRADING,  ETC.  141 

(This  paper  was  prepared  for  the  Birmingham  meet- 
ing of  the  Alabama  Industrial  and  Scientific  Society, 
May,  1893.  At  that  time  the  prices,  f.  o.  b.  furnace, 
Birmingham  district,  for  the  grades  given,  were  about 
as  follows,  per  ton  of  2240  Ibs. : 

Silver  Gray $9 . 50 

1  Soft.. 9.00 

2  Soft 8.75 

1  Foundry 10 . 75 

2  Foundry 9 . 50 

3  Foundry 8 . 50 

Gray  Forge , 8.25 

Mottled 7.90 

White 7.50 

The  freight  rates  to  inportant  points,  car  load  lots, 
were  as  follows:  Atlanta,  $1.30;  Boston,  $4.36;  Buffalo, 
$4.40;  Cleveland,  $3.85;  Cincinnati,  $2.75;  Detroit, 
$3.49;  Erie,  $4.40;  Evansville,  $2.75;  Louisville,  $2.10; 
New  Orleans,  $2.55;  New  York,  $4.31;  Philadelphia, 
$4.31 ;  St.  Louis,  $3.25  ;  Worcester,  $5.14. 

The  agreement  between  the  Southern  coke  iron  makers, 
to  which  Mr.  Barton  alludes,  was  made  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1888,  and  was  as  follows,  according  to  the  circu- 
lar that  was  issued  : 

"CHANGE    OF    NOMENCLATURE  OF  SOUTHERN  COKE  IRON 

GRADING. 

The  system  of  grading  pursued  by  Southern  coke 
furnaces  in  the  past  having  been  peculiar  to  the  district 
and  out  of  line  with  the  grading  followed  by  Northern 
furnaces,  it  has  been  determined  to  change  the  nomen- 
clature of  Southern  grading  as  to  make  it  conform  to 
to  the  standard  throughout  the  country. 

Therefore,  on  and  after  October  1st,  I88S,  the  follow- 
ing schedule  will  be  uniformly  pursued  by  the  compa- 
nies whose  signatures  are  attached  : 


142  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

No.  1  Foundry,    same  as  hitherto  called  No.  2. 

No.  2  Foundry,         "  il  "      No.  2|. 

No.  3  Foundry,  "  "       No.  1  Mill. 

No.  1  Soft,  «  "      Open  Bright 

No.  2  Soft,  "  "       Close  Bright, 

Silver  Gray ,  "'  "  "       Silver  Gray . 

Gray  Forge,  "  li  "       No.  2  Mill. 

Mottled,  "  "  "      Mottled. 

White,  "  "  "      White. 

Sales  agents  are  required  to  invoice  in  accordance 
with  this  schedule  all  shipments  on  new  orders,  and  also 
those  on  orders  taken  before  this  goes  into  effect  and  not 
yet  completed. 

Tenn.  Coal,  Iron  &  Ry.  Co.,  operating  the  4  Ensley, 
2  Alice,  3  South  Pittsburg  and  1  Sewanee  furnaces. 

Sloss  Iron  &  Steel  Co.,  operating  the  4  Sloss  furnaces, 

Nashville  Iron,  Steel  &  Charcoal  Co.,  operating  the  2 
Nashville  furnaces. 

Williamson  Iron  Co.,  operating  the  1  Williamson  fur- 
nace. 

Mary  Pratt  Furnace  Co.,  operating  the  1  Mary  Pratt 
furnace. 

Roane  Iron  Co.,  operating  the  2  Rockwood  furnaces, 

Citico  Furnace  Co.,  operating  the  1  Citico  furnace. 

Dayton  Coal  &  Iron  Co.,  L'd.,  operating  the  2  Dayton 
furnaces. 

Gadsden- Alabama  Furnace  Co.,  operating  the  1  Eto- 
wah  furnace. 

Walker  Iron  Co.,  operating  the  1  Rising  Fawn  furnace, 

Chattanooga  Iron  Co.,  operating  the  1  Chattanooga 
furnace. 

Sheffield  &  Birmingham  Coal,  Iron  &  Ry.  Co.,  oper- 
ating the  3  Cole  furnaces. 

Eureka  Co.,  operating  the  2  Eureka  furnaces. 

Woodward  Iron  Co.,  operating  the  2  Woodward  fur- 
naces. 


PIC  IRON  ;    MARKET,  GRADING,  ETC.  143 

DeBardeleben  Coal  &  Iron  Co.,  operating  the  2  De- 
Bardeleben  furnaces." 

This  was  the  first  concerted  step  taken  towards  uni- 
formity of  grading  in  Southern  Coke  Iron,  and  was  pro- 
ductive of  very  considerable  benefit  to  the  trade. 

W.  B.  P.) 


THE  GRADING  OF  SOUTHERN  COKE  IRON  WITH 
SPECIAL  REFERENCE  TO  THE  BIR- 
MINGHAM DISTRICT. 

(Proc.  Ala.  Induct.  &  Sci.  $oc.,  Vol.  VI,  1896,  pp.  11-14,} 

BY 

\V.  H.  BRANNOX,  Bessemer,  Ala. 

Eight  years  ago  there  were  in  the  Birmingham  Dis- 
trict 15  grades  of  iron,  viz  : — 1  Foundry  ;  2  Foundry  ;  2| 
Foundry;3  Foundry;  Extra  No.  1  Mill;  No.  2  Mill ; 
Mottled;  White;  No.  1  Bright;  Medium  Bright;  Close 
Bright;  No.  1  Silvery  ;  No.  2  Silvery;  and  Silvery  Mill. 

This  list  was  revised  in  1888,  and  to-day  we  recognize 
11  grades,  viz: — No.  2  Silvery  ;  No.  1  Silvery  ;  No.  2 
Soft ;  No.  1  Soft ;  No.  1  Foundry  ;  No.  2  Foundry;  No.  3 
Foundry  ;  No.  4  Foundry  ;  Gray  Forge  ;  Mottled  ;,  and 
White. 

In  1888  very  little  attention  was  paid  to  chemical 
analysis,  the  irons  being  graded  almost  entirely  by  color 
and  granulation.  In  addition  to  having  a  fair  knowl- 
edge of  the  principal  chemical  ingredients  of  pig  iron 
the  grader  now  must  be  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 


144  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OP  ALABAMA. 

four  points  in  uniform  grading,  viz  : — color,  granulation; 
fracture  and  face. 

No.  2  Silvery  contains  from  5  to  5.50  per  cent,  of  sili- 
con, has  very  little  or  no  granulation,  and  is  almost 
smooth,  with  a  galvanized  appearance.  No.  1  Silvery 
has  some  granulation,  and  a  smooth  face,  and  contains 
from  4.50  to  5  per  cent,  of  silicon.  Both  these  irons  are 
weak  in  fracture,  and  show  a  fine,  silvery  lustre  on  a 
fresh  face,  and  are  flaky.  They  should  exhibit  no  dark 
spots,  and  the  crystallization  is  obscure.  They  are  what 
they  purport  to  be  'Silvery  irons,'  and  the  difference  be- 
tween them,  on  the  yard,  is  mainly,  one  of  granulation. 
They  are  the  hottest  irons,  and  contain  much  more  sili- 
con and  much  less  combined  carbon  than  any  of  the 
other  grades .  Their  carbon  is  almost  wholly  in  the  shape 
of  graphite,  but  the  large  excess  of  silicon  prevents  this 
ingredient  from  conferring  a  dark  color  on  the  iron. 

No.  2  Soft  contains  3.50  to  4.0  per  cent,  of  silicon. 
No.  1  Soft  from  3.0  to  3.5  per  cent.  They  are  both  of  a 
light  color,  smooth  face  and  weak  fracture.  A  distinct 
granulation  begins  to  be  apparent  in  No.  1  Soft,  which 
is  more  pronounced  in  No.  I  Soft,  but  in  neither  of  these 
grades  is  the  granulation  so  marked  as  in  the  Foundry 
irons. 

The  Soft  irons  are  darker  than  the  Silvery  irons,  but 
lighter  in  color  than  the  Foundry  irons,  and  the  granu- 
lation is  not  so  jagged  as  in  these  latter  grades.  In 
particular  they  do  not  show  a  silvery  appearance,  and 
are  not  flaky.  The  increasing  ratio  of  graphite  to  silicon 
begins  to  manifest  itself  in  the  Soft  irons  in  the  dajken- 
ing  of  the  color  as  compared  with  the  Silvery  irons. 

No.  1  Foundry  contains  from  2.50  to  3.0  per  cent,  of 
silicon,  has  a  very  open  and  regular  granulation  extend- 
ing through  the  entire  face,  and  a  dark  gray  color.  The 
crystallization  is  marked,  and  the  face  is  rough  to  the 
feel.  The  difference  between  this  and  No.  2  Foundry, 


i'i<,  IRON;   MARKET,  GRADING,  ETC.  11.") 

which  contains  from  2.25  to  2.50  per  cent,  of  silicon,  is 
the  same  in  kind  as  exists  between  the  two  silvery,  and 
the  two  soft  irons,  and  is  cniefly  one  of  granulation.  In 
No.  2  Foundry  the  grain  is  not  so  open  as  in  Xo.  1  Foun- 
dry, nor  is  the  crystallization  so  coarse.  The  color  may 
be  as  dark  in  one  as  in  the  other,  but  in  No.  1  Foundry 
there  is  a  4eep  blackish  gray  color  which  is  absent  in 
No.  2  Foundry. 

No.  3  Foundry  contains  from  2.0  to  2.25  per  cent,  of 
silicon,  and  resembles  No.  1  and  No.  2  Foundry  in  struc- 
ture, but  the  granulation  is  much  less  marked.  The 
crystallization  is  finer  than  in  No.  2  Foundry,  and  the 
color,  while  still  dark  gray,  is  not  so  pronounced. 

No.  1  Foundry,  recently  called  Foundry  Forge,  shows 
the  dark  gray  color  of  the  other  foundry  irons,  but  the 
granulation  is  closer  and  the  crystallization  finer.  It 
carries  from  1.75  to  2.0  per  cent,  of  silicon.  Taken  to- 
gether the  foundry  irons  are  distinguished  by  dark  gray 
color,  open  grain,  and  well  marked  crystallization,  three 
points  which  are  seen  to  the  best  advantage  in  No.  1 
Foundry. 

Gray  Forge  is  the  old  No.  2  Mill.  It  has  1.50  to  1.75 
percent,  of  silicon,  and  shows  a  pebbled  granulation  in 
the  center,  with  mottled  edges  about  one-quarter  of  an 
inch  deep  all  around.  It  has  a  blistered  and  pitted  face, 
and  is  frequently  honey-combed  on  the  fractured  end, 
some  of  the  holes  being  an  eighth  to  a  half  an  inch  deep. 

Mottled  iron  has  from  1.25  to  1.50  per  cent,  of  silicon, 
shows  no  granulation,  and  has  a  pepper-and  salt  appear- 
ance on  a  fresh  face.  It  begins  to  show  an  increasing 
amount  of  combined  carbon,  about  one-half  of  the  total 
carbon  being  in  this  condition. 

White  iron  has  from  1.0  to  1.25  per  cent,  of  silicon, 
shows  no  granulation,  and  is  often  as  white  as  bleached 
linen.  It  carries  very  little  graphite,  and  is  usually 
high  in  sulphur.  It  is  very  hard,  often  resisting  the 


146          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

drill,  and  on  this  account  is  difficult  to  sample  properly. 

In  sampling  pig  iron  one  of  two  methods  may  be  used, 
the  choice  depending  on  the  extent  of  the  subsequent 
analysis.  When  silicon,  sulphur,  phosphorus,  manga- 
nese and  total  carbon  are  to  be  determined  the  iron  is 
best  sampled  from  the  runner,  from  4  to  6  small  ladles- 
full  being  taken  during  the  cast  and  shotted  in  a  bucket 
of  cold  water.  When  graphite,  and  combined  carbon 
are  also  to  be  determined  boring  must  be  resorted  to.  In 
this  case  two  methods  may  be  used.  In  the  first,  the 
face  of  the  pig  is  bored  in  three  places  to  the  depth  of  i 
to  1  inch  along  a  line  drawn  diagonally  across  the  face, 
the  borings  being  mixed.  In  the  second,  the  pig  is  bored 
diagonally  almost  entirely  through  in  one  place. 

In  boring  pig  iron  care  must  be  taken  to  prevent  the 
intermixture  of  sand  from  the  pig  with  the  borings ,  and 
it  is  well  to  put  a  careful  man  in  charge  of  the  drill.  In 
boring  chilled  pig,  and  in  sampling  from  the  runner, 
there  is,  of  course,  much  less  danger  of  adhering  sand 
getting  into  the  borings.  A  neglect  of  this  matter  may 
often  mislead  the  grader,  as  sand  in  the  borings  shows 
up  as  silicon  in  the  pig,  and  a  No.  3  Foundry  may  be 
classed  as  a  No.  1  Soft.  It  is  a  difficult  and  tiresome 
matter  to  separate  sand  from  borings  by  means  of  a  mag- 
net, and  at  the  best  entails  a  good  deal  of  extra  and  un- 
necessary labor  upon  the  chemist. 

The  tendency  of  the  trade  is  now  strongly  towards  a 
closer  chemical  inspection  of  the  irons  offered  for  sale, 
and  the  grader  who  intends  to  keep  up  with  his  profes- 
sion must  take  this  fact  into  consideration.  He  must, 
therefore,  acquaint  himself  with  the  effect  of  the  chief 
constituents  upon  the  various  irons  in  respect  of  color, 
granulation,  fracture  and  face.  He  is  called  upon  every 
day  to  decide  questions  involving  a  great  deal  of  money, 
and  as  it  sometimes  happens  that  he  can  not  wait  for  an 
analysis  he  must  be  prepared  to  grade  without  it.  But 


PIG  IRON  ;    MARKET,   GRADING,  ETC.  147 

he  should  by  all  means  cultivate  the  closest  intimacy 
with  the  laboratory,  and  have  the  grades  analysed  as 
often  as  possible,  and  not  neglect  to  inform  himself  as  to 
the  influence  of  the  burden,  heat  and  pressure  upon  the 
product  under  his  care. 


(This  paper  was  prepared  for  the  Birmingham  meet- 
ing of  the  Alabama  Industrial  and  Scientific  Society, 
May,  1896. 

At  that  time  the  prices,  f.  q.  b.  furnace  Birmingham 
district,  for  the  grades  given  were  about  as  follows,  per 
ton  of  2,2401bs. : 

Open  Silver  Gray $8.75 

Close     «          "      8.50 

1  Soft 7.75 

2  Soft 7.50 

1  Foundry 8 .25 

2  Foundry 7.75 

3  Foundry 7.25 

4  Foundry 6.90 

dray  Forge 6.75 

Mottled 6.75 

White 6.25 

The  freight  rates  to  various  important  points  were  as 
follows  : 


148 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 


FREIGHT   TARIFF   FOR   PIG  IRON. 
IN  EFFECT  FEBRUARY  24TH,  1896. 


BIRMINGHAM  To  — 

Distance  in 
Miles. 

Rate  per  Ton. 
Car  load  not 
less  than  17}/2 
tons  of  2,288 
Ibs. 

Route. 

Atlanta  

167 

$      1  30 

Rail. 

Baltimore  
Boston   
Buffalo        

1050 
1450 
950 

3.60 
4.10      ' 
4  40 

Rail  and  water. 

n 

Rail. 

Cincinnati  

504 

2.75 

Cleveland   
Chicago 

767 
650 

3.90 
3  85 

Detroit 

766 

3  95 

Galveston 

800 

4  83M 

Hamilton,  Canada. 
Louisville  

975 
394 

5.10 
2  50 

Mobile  
New  Orleans  
New   York  
Norfolk  
Philadelphia  
Pittsburg  

276 
417 
1225 
765 
1150 
817 

2.50 
2.50 
3.75 
3.00 
4.75 
4.40 

Ra  1  and  water. 
Ral. 

Portland,   Oregon.  . 
San  Francisco  
Savannah  
St.  Louis  
Toronto,  Canada.  .  . 

3675 
2900 
448 
528 
996 

14.47 
13.34 
2.90 
3.25 
5.10 

W.  B.  P.) 

OBSERVATIONS  ON  GRADING  COKE  IRON. 

(Proc.  Ala.  Indust.  &  Sci.  Soc.,  Vol.    VI,  1896,  pp.  15-23.) 

BY 

WILLIAM  B.  PHILLIPS,  BIRMINGHAM,  ALA. 

The  grading  of  coke  iron  calls  for  a  considerable 
amount  of  skill,  which  can  be  attained  only  by  experi- 
ence and  the  closest  attention  to  details.  Even  then  it 
not  infrequently  happens  that  the  best  graders  will  be  at 
fault  and  the  question  can  be  settled  only  by  the  chemist. 


PKi   IRON  :    MARKET,  GRADING,    ETC.  140 

Reference  has  been  made  by  Mr.  Barton  (Proc.,  Vol.  Ill, 
1893,  pages  35-39)  to  a  case  where  an  iron  which  was 
afterwurcls  found  to  contain  1.12  per  cent,  silicon  was 
graded  by  these  different  men  as  No.  1  Soft.  Other  in- 
stances might  be  adduced  in  support  of  the  proposition 
that,  after  all,  the  proper  place  for  grading  iron  is  the 
laboratory.  It  is  not  meant  by  this  that  iron  should  be 
graded  only  in  the  laboratory,  for  this  would  entail  con- 
siderable expense,  which  might  not  be  warranted  by  the 
situation.  But  that  the  closest  affinity  should  exist  be- 
tween the  grader  and  the  chemist,  no  one  who  has  ob- 
served the  course  of  the  Southern  coke  irons  during  the 
past  eight  or  nine  years  can  reasonably  deny. 

When  Mr.  Robertson  prepared  his  paper  on  the  grad- 
ing of  Southern  coke  irons  (Trans.  Amer.  Inst.  Min. 
Engrs.,  Vol.  XVII,  1883-89,  pp.  94-96),  the  foundry 
irons  carried  more  than  3  per  cent,  of  silicon,  and  there 
was  constant  complaint  by  consumers  that  there  was  too 
much  variation  in  the  grades.  This  was  to  a  great  ex- 
tent allayed  by  the  practice  that  began  with  the  circular 
issued  by  the  Southern  iron  men  in  1888,  which  has  been 
quoted  in  full  in  my  Report  on  Iron  Making  in  Alabama. 

But  it  was  found  in  1893  that  another  grade  was  need- 
ed, intermediate  between  3  Foundry  and  Gray  Forge, 
and  it  was  established  by  some  companies  under  the 
term  Foundry  Forge.  To  this  the  objection  was  made 
that  ttve  term  was  self-contradictory,  an  iron  could  not 
be  at  once  Foundry,  and  Forge.  In  1895  the  grade  was 
abolished,  and  what  was  formerly  Forge  is  now  termed 
No.  4  Foundry. 

Xow  and  then  it  happened  that  a  close,  fine  grained 
silvery  looking  iron  would  show  on  analysis  not  more 
than  2  per  cent,  of  silicon,  while  again,  without  greatly 
altering  in  appearance,  it  would  show  from  2.90  to  3.10 
per  cent,  silicon.  If  the  silicon  was  about  2  per  cent, 
the  iron  was  termed  Foundry  Forge,  as  it  is  now  termed 


150          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

No.  4  Foundry ;  if  the  silicon  was    about  3   per   cent,   it 
was  and  is  yet,  termed  No.  1  Soft. 

Ordinarily  and  when  grading  for  the  same  furnace 
running  on  about  the  same  burden,  the  competent  grader 
comes  very  near  the  proper  grade,  and  can  be  trusted 
to  ship  on  his  own  judgment.  But  when  complaints 
arise,  as  they  do  sometimes,  and  especially  on  a  de- 
pressed market,  the  only  way  in  which  the  ire  of 
the  consumer  can  be  placated  is  to  show  him  that 
the  iron  he  objected  to  as  not  being  No.  3  Foundry,  for 
instance,  does  really  contain  from  1.75  to  2  per  cent,  of 
silicon,  and  falls  within  the  limits  for  this  particular 
grade.  This  much  as  to  silicon.  But  how  is  it  in  res- 
pect to  graphitic,  and  combined  carbon?  Is  the  iron  to 
be  graded  solely  by  its  silicon  .content?  It  is  granted 
that  for  the  most  part  iron  can  be  fairly  well  graded  on 
its  content  of  silicon,  and  that  the  variation  of  this  ele- 
ment confers  upon  the  iron  peculiarities  of  color,  gran- 
ulation, fracture,  and  face  that  are  more  strongly  marked 
than  peculiarities  due  to  other  elements.  It  is  this  fact 
that  has  rendered  possible  the  present  system  of  visual 
and  tactual  grading.  It  was  quietly  assumed  that  if  the 
silicon  was  all  right,  the  iron  was  all  right,  and  this  was 
supplemented  by  the  further  assumption  that  if  the  iron 
was  all  right  the  silicon  was  all  right.  In  .this  way  it 
was  possible  even  for  a  conscientious  grader  to  fortify 
himself  behind  a  pretty  high  wall  of  silicon,  and  fire  sili- 
con bombs  ad  libitum. 

The  easiest  way  of  grading  iron  is  by  its  silicon  con- 
tent, but  it  by  no  means  follows  that  it  is  the  best  way, 
or  the  only  way.  Leaving  out  the  content  of  sulphur, 
as  not  seriously  affecting  any  of  the  grades  above  Gray 
Forge,  there  should  be  certain  ratios  established  between 
silicon  and  combined  carbon  for  the  Soft  and  Foundry 
irons.  The  variation  in  the  amount  of  silicon  does,  of 
course,  influence  the  quality  of  the  iron,  and  one  might 


PIG  IROX  ;   MARKET,  GRADING,    ETC.  151 

go  even  farther  and  allow  that  it  influences  the  iron 
more  than  any  other  single  element.  But  combined  car- 
bon is  by  no  means  to  be  neglected. 

In  29  complete  analyses  of  iron  graded  as  No.  3  Foun- 
dry, I  found  that  the  silicon  varied  from  1.45  to  3.83  per 
cent.,  the  average  being  2.37  per  cent.  Five  of  the  sam- 
ples should. have  been  graded  as  No.  1  Soft,  as  the  silicon 
was  between  3.04  and  3.17  per  cent.,  and  one  should 
have  been  No.  2  Soft  with  silicon  3.83  per  cent.  These 
irons  were  all  graded  on  the  yard  by  a  careful  and  com- 
petent man,  yet  in  6  cases  out  of  29,  or  20.7  per  cent., 
the  iron  graded  as  No.  3  Foundry  was  really  Soft.  Ex- 
cluding these  six,  the  average  silicon  in  the  other  23  was 
2.16  per  cent.,  a  result  not  far  wrong,  if  at  all,  as  No.  3 
Foundry  may  vary  from  1.90  to  2.20  per  cent,  of  silicon. 
In  the  six  cases  in  which  the  silicon  was  over  3  per  cent, 
the  combined  carbon  was  1.04  per  cent.,  and  the  23 
others  it  was  0.82  per  cent.,  the  average  of  the  29  being 
0.87  per  cent. 

The  combined  carbon  in  No.  3  Foundry  does  not 
usually  run  as  high  as  0.82  per  cent.,  the  average  being 
about  0.40  per  cent.  In  the  Soft  irons  it  should  not  be 
above  0.40  per  cent.,  but  in  some  cases  especially  when 
the  iron  resembles  No.  3  Foundry,  it  may  go  to  1.00  per 
cent. 

We  have  then  to  discriminate  between  Soft  irons  with 
over  3  per  cent,  of  silicon,  and  the  normal  amount  of 
combined  carbon,  and  irons  which  contain  over  3  per 
cent,  of  silicon  and  upwards  of  1  per  cent,  of  combined 
carbon.  Grading  on  fracture  and  appearance  some  of 
these  latter  irons  would  be  put  in  No.  :->  Foundry  ;  grad- 
ing on  silicon  content  they  would  go  in  the  Soft  irons, 
with  the  understanding  that  the  combined  carbon  was 
abnormally  high. 

The  same  principle  holds  good  in  respect  of  the  other 
Foundry  irons,  although  in  a  less  degree.  It  is  this  ten- 


152          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

dency  of  the  lower  grades  of  Foundry  iron  to  show  higher 
percentage  of  combined  carbon  than  is  usually  the  case 
that  renders  grading  by  fracture  and  appearance  some- 
what uncertain.  In  case  of  doubt  a  silicon  estimation 
will  enable  one  to  decide  whether  or  no  the  iron  should 
be  put  in  the  Soft  grades,  and  an  estimation  of  combined 
carbon  will  show  whether  or  no  it  should  be  stated  that 
this  element  is  above  the  average. 

In  a  paper  read  before  the  Alabama  Industrial  and 
Scientific  Society  in  1895,  which  we  have  quoted  in  full, 
Mr.  James  Bowron  said  :  "For  the  enlargement  of  the 
domestic  market,  the  most  desirable  thing  to  be  doner 
in  my  judgment,  is  to  secure  uniformity  in  grading  and 
naming  iron,  and  selling  it  upon  terms  of  uniformity. 
*  *  *  It  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say  that  the  whole 
question  of  grading  iron  is  assuming  a  more  complex 
condition,  and  that  if  it  is  not  in  a  somewhat  chaotic 
state,  the  minds  of  some  of  the  graders  have  attained 
that  undesirable  goal.  Harassed  by  the  pressure  of  evil 
times  and  the  desire  of  the  consumer  for  something  cheap 
er,  the  effort  has  been  continually  made  not  to  split  hairs, 
but  to  split  grades  in  a  corresponding  degree  of  fineness. 
This  leads  to  absence  of  physical  or  chemical  lines  of 
demarcation,  and  makes  the  question  of  grading  depend 
more  than  ever  on  the  individual  opinions  of  the  maker 
and  consumer,  who  naturally  look  at  it  from  different 
standpoints,  and  arrive  at  different  results.  This  leads 
to  considerable  friction,  and,  in  the  long  run,  Southe.rn 
iron  gets  a  bad  name." 

Mr.  Bowron' s  long  and  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  commercial  aspects  of  grading  qualifies  him  fo  speak 
ex  cathedra,  and  if  he  can  deliberately  take  the  position 
that  uniformity  in  grading  and  naming  iron  is  the  most 
desirable  thing  that  can  be  done  towards  enlarging  the 
domestic  market  for  pig  iron,  surely  it  is  time  to  discuss 
the  matter  from  every  point  of  view,  with  the  hope  of 


153 

arriving  at  some  more  reasonable  system  than  is  at  pres 
ent  used. 

The  multiplication  of  grades  may  go  on  indefinitely 
according  as  the  fancied  needs  of  consumers  increase  in 
number.  If  a  manufacturer  asks  for  an  iron  carrying 
not  more  than  3.50  per  cent,  and  not  less  than  3  per  cent, 
of  silicon  with  combined  carbon  not  over  0.50  per  cent., 
he  should  be  able  to  get  it. 

There  has  recently  been  completed  an  agreement  be- 
tween the  chief  producers  of  Alabama  coke  iron  whereby 
certain  uniform  prices  for  standard  grades  are  to  be  ob- 
served. It  is  a  very  good  thing  as  far  as  it  goes,  but  it 
does  not  go  far  enough,  nor  strike  very  heartily  at  the 
root  of  the  trouble. 

The  main  point  is  to  secure  uniform  grading,  and  this 
can  certainly  not  be  gained  merely  by  establishing  uni- 
form prices.  Mr.  Bowron  was  unquestionably  right  in 
saying  that  uniformity  in  price  and  uniformity  in  grading, 
(the  italics  are  ours)  must  be  maintained  if  the  domestic 
market  is  to  be  enlarged. 

The  local  trade  association  of  which  he  speaks  could 
take  the  matter  in  hand,  but  a  simpler  and  it  seems  to 
us  a  more  satisfactory  plan  would  be  for  the  companies 
that  made  the  agreement  as  to  prices  to  make  a  similar 
agreement  as  to  grading,  and  put  a  competent  man  in 
charge  of  it.  The  price  depends  upon  the  grading.  It 
is  not  enough  for  the  iron-masters  to  meet  and  say  what 
the  names  of  the  grades  shall  be,  nor  to  fix  the  price  at 
which  the  grades  thus  named  shall  be  sold.  Unless 
there  is  at  the  same  time  an  agreement  as  to  what  kind 
of  iron  shall  be  deemed  No.  1  Soft,  or  No.  3  Foundry, 
the  proctocol  as  to  uniform  prices  is  to  a  large  extent 
abrogated.  It  is  sure  to  happen  that  permission  to  ask 
a  special  price  for  a  special  iron  will  be  solicited,  and 
unless  it  is  known  what  this  iron  is,  what  relation  it 
10 


154          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

bears  to  the  grades  whose  prices  are  already  fixed  and 
agreed  upon,  how  can  there  be  any  thing  but  confusion? 
One  may  say :  "I  am  making  an  iron,  or  I  have  it  and 
it  is  now  piled,  which  to  all  ordinary  grading  would  be 
put  in  No.  2  Foundry.  But  it  carries  less  than  1.50  per 
cent,  of  silicon  and  is  therefore  not  a  typical  No.  2  Foun- 
dry and  I  wish  to  ask  a  special  price  for  it."  He  has 
called  in  his  chemist  and  knows  that  the  iron  is  not  No. 
2  Foundry,  although  it  closely  resembles  it  in  granula- 
tion, color,  fracture  and  face.  He  wishes  to  sell  it  on 
analysis,  for  this  is  really  the  gist  of  the  whole  matter. 

By  all  means  let  there  be  uniform  prices,  but  if  the 
grading  is  not  uniform  what  do  the  uniform  prices 
amount  to,  after  all?  They  are  simply  grade-splitters, 
and  will  inevitably  lead  to  more  confusion  than  at  pres- 
ent exists,  if  they  are  not  based  on  the  chemical  analysis 
of  the  irons. 

Some  people  are  inclined  to  regard  the  chemical  grad- 
ing of  pig  iron  as  a  sort  of  Panjandrum,  or  Mysterious 
Monster,  lying  in  wait  for  the  unwary,  and  they  begin 
to  tell  their  beads  as  soon  as  a-  chemist  heaves  in  sight. 
But  no  chemist  who  understands  the  situation  in  Ala- 
bama can  declare  out  and  out  for  laboratory  grading,  as 
no  chemist  can  doubt  that  the  present  system  is  out  of 
date,  illogical,  and  cumbersome. 

The  purposes  to  which  pig  iron  is  put  depend  abso- 
lutely upon  its  composition  ;  the  color,  fracture,  granu- 
lation, and  face  have  nothing  to  do  with  it  except  in  so 
far  as  they  indicate  the  existence  of  certain  ingredients 
whose  actual  percentages  can  be  determined  only  fey  the 
chemist.  As  regards  grading  the  inferences  to  be  drawn 
from  data  obtained  on  the  iron  yard  are  reliable  only  if 
confirmed  by  laboratory  tests,  and  it  is  particularly  un- 
grateful in  graders  and  furnace  managers  to  decry  the 
further  application  of  the  very  science  upon  which  they 
base  the  practice  of  their  art. 


PIG    IRON  ;   MARKET,    GRADING,  <fcC.  155 

What  changes  are  to  be  suggested?  First  the  main- 
tenance of  a  chief  grader,  whose  business  it  should  be  to 
regulate  the  grading  under  conditions  imposed  by  the 
separate  companies.  Second,  the  establishment  of  a 
central  laboratory  devoted  to  pig  iron  analyses.  Third, 
the  diminution  of  the  number  of  grades  and  the  substi- 
tution therefor  of  not  more  than  six  grades,  differentiated 
by  the  content  in  silicon,  and  combined  carbon,  and 
possibly  sulphur.  These  six  grades  might  be  as  follows  ; 

Silicon.    Combined  Carbon.     Sulphur. 

Silvery  Irons,     5  to  6  0.10  to  0.30  0.01  to  0.04 

Soft  Irons,          3  to  5  0.20  to  0.60  0.01  to  0.05 

Foundry  Irons,  2  to  3  0.30  to  0.90  0.01  to  0.07 

Gray  Forge,        1  to  2  0.40  to  1.25  0.04  to  0.09 

Mottled,  0.6  to  1  0.50  to  1.80  0.06  to  0.11 

White,  *  0.1  to  0.6    1.00  to  2.50  0.08  to  0.30 

This  scheme,  or  some  modification  of  it  in  line  with  its 
general  provisions  would  retain  the  present  nomencla- 
ture, and  bring  it  into  closer  accord  with  laboratory  re- 
stilts.  It  would  do  away  with  five  grades,  which  are  no 
more  than  side-grades  at  best,  and  would  enable  the 
grader  to  exercise  better  discretion  in  the  yard.  The 
rapidity  and  accuracy  with  which  the  estimation  of  sili- 
con, and  combined  carbon  can  now  be  made  render  it 
possible  to  have  the  results  from  the  cast-house  by  the 
time  the  iron  is  ready  to  break  and  pile.  The  estimation 
of  silicon  now  leaves  very  little  to  be  desired,  and  while 
the  estimation  of  combined  carbon  in  pig  iron  is  not  so 
accurate  as  in  steel  it  is  sufficiently  so  for  the  purpose  in 
hand.  If  objection  be  made  to  such  a  radical  change 
much  could  be  done  to  improve  the  present  system  with- 
out decreasing  the  number  of  grades,  or  interfering  with 
the  nomenclature.  If  a  systematic  record  of  the  pigs 
sampled  were  kept  it  would  be  possible  to  control  the 


156          GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

grading  within  narrower  limits  than  now  maintain.  An 
excellent  system  has  been  devised  by  consultation  with 
Mr.  W.  H.  Brannon,  chief  grader  for  the  Tennessee  Coal, 
Iron  &  Railroad  Co.,  Mr.  W.  J.  Sleep,  manager  of  the 
American  Pig  Iron  Storage  Warrant  Co.,  in  this  district, 
and  two  well  known  pig  iron  brokers  whose  names  it^is 
not  necessary  to  mention.  It  was  our  purpose  to  have  a 
convenient  envelope  prepared  for  holding  the  borings, 
and  on  the  front  of  it  we  had  the  following  : 

Tennessee  Coal,  Iron  &  Railroad  Co. 

-  Tons.  Grade  - 

•Furnace.  Division  - 

•189—  Sampled  -  189— 


Regular.    (  Fine. 

Granulation.  <  Medium. 

Irregular.    (  Coarse. 

(  Smooth. 
Face.    <  Pitted. 

(  Blistered. 
Chilled  edge  - 

Signed  - 

On  the  back  of  the  envelope  was  printed  the  following 

Charges  - 
Burden. 

Hard  Ore  ................... 

Soft  Ore  ..............  ,  ..... 

Brown  Ore  .........  .  .  ,  ...... 

Limestone. 


Stone'  Dolomite. 
Coke 

Total 


PIG  IRON  ;  MARKET,   GRADIX( 


157 


To  be  taken  before  each  cast. 


Time . 


Average. 


Keys,  of  Kngine. 


Heat. 


Pressure. 


The  line  on  the  front  of  the  envelope  that  does  not  ap- 
ply to  the  sample  is  marked  out,  thus  if  the  color  is  dark 
the  word  'light*  is  marked  out,  if  the  granulation  is  reg- 
ular and  fine,  the  words  irregular,  medium,  and  coarse 
are  marked  out,  if  there  is  a  chilled  edge  i  or  i  inch 
deep  it  is  so  stated,  if  there  is  no  chilled  edge,  the  words 
are  erased. 

By  the  use  of  this  envelope  it  is  possible  to  have  re- 
corded a  complete'  history  of  the  sample  under  examina- 
tion. The  results  reached  are  of  the  highest  importance 
if  the  system  is  faithfully  adhered  to,  for  at  any  time, 
by  reference  to  the  laboratory  books,  it  can  be  known 
what  was  the  exact  composition  of  any  grade  of  iron,  its 
physical  peculiarities  and  the  burden  on  which  it  was 
made. 

We  are  convinced  that  if  this,  or  a  similar,  system 
were  intelligently  and  persistently  followed  the  com- 
plaints of  lack  of  uniformity  in  grading  our  coke  irons 
would  gradually  disappear. 

It  is  acknowledged  on  every  side  that  the  irons  are  not 
uniformly  graded,  and  unless  some  steps  are  taken  to 
remedy  this  most  serious  obstacle  to  the  enlargement  of 
our  markets  we  shall  always  be  met  with  the  assertion 
that  we  are  not  doing  what  we  could  do  to  correct  the 
evil. 


158 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 

TABLE  XI. 


PRODUCTION  OF  IRON  ORE,  COAL,  COKE  AND  PIG  IRON  IN 

ALABAMA. 


Pig  I 

ron.  Tons 

of 

2,240  Ibs. 

Iron  Ore. 

Coal. 

Coke. 

Tons  of 

Tons  of 

Tons  of 

2,240  Ibs. 

2,000  Ibs. 

2,000  Ibs. 

, 

n- 

Coke. 

Charcoal. 

Total. 

o> 

„ 

• 

1870 

11,350 

10,999 

1871 

20,000 

1872 

22,000 

30,000 

.11,171 

11,171 

1873 

39,000 

44,800 

:::::::::::: 

19,895 

19,895 

1874 

58,000 

50,400 

29,342 

29,342 

1875 

44,000 

67,200 

22,418 

22,418 

1876 

44,000 

112,000 

1,262 

20,818 

22,080 

1877 

70,000 

196,000 



14,643 

22,180 

36,823 

1878 

75,000 

224,000 

15,615 

21,422 

37,037 

1879 

90,000 

280,000 

15  937 

28,56H 

44,500 

1880 

171,139 

380,000 

60,781 

35,232 

33,693 

68,925 

1881 

220,000 

420,000 

109,033 

48,107 

39,483 

87,590 

1882 

250,000 

896,000 

152,940 

51,093 

49,590 

100,683 

1883 

385,000 

1,568,000 

217,531 

102,750 

51,237 

153,987 

1884 

420,000 

2,240,000 

244,009 

116,264 

53.078 

169,342 

1885 

505,000 

2,492,000 

301,180 

133,808 

69,261 

203,069 

1886 

650,000 

1,800,000 

375,054 

180,133 

73,312 

253,445 

1887 

675,000 

1,950,000 

325,020 

176,374 

85,020 

261,394 

1888 

1,000,000 

2,900,000 

508,511 

317,289 

84,041 

401,330 

1889 
1890 

1,570,000 
1,897,815 

3,572,983 
4,090,409 

1,030,510 
1,072,942 

608,034 
718,383 

98,595 

98,528 

706,629 
816,911 

1891 

1,986,830 

4,759,781 

1,282,496 

717,687 

77,985 

795,672 

1892 

2,312,071 

5,529,312 

1,501,571 

835,840 

79,456J 

915,296 

1893 

1,742,410 

5,136,935 

1,168,085 

659,725 

67,163 

726,888 

1894 

1,493,086 

4,397,178 

923,817 

556,314 

36,078 

592,392 

1895 

2,199,390 

5,705,713 

1,444,339 

835,851 

18,816 

854,667 

PIG  IRON  ;  MARKET,  GRADING,    &C . 

TABLE  XII. 


159 


FREIGHT  TARIFF  FOR  COAL  AND  COKE.     IN  EFFECT  FEB- 
RUARY, 1896. 


BIRMINGHAM  To  — 

Distance    in 
Miles. 

Rate  per 
Ton.    Car 
load  not  less 
than  23  tons 
of  2,000  Ibs. 

Local. 

\tlanta 

167 

$  1  05 

A.ugu8ta 

338 

2  05 

Charleston      
Columbia,  S.   C          .  .         .                       .... 

476 
423 

2  20 

Columbus   Miss                                    .... 

125 

1  05 

Dallas  
El  Paso   

861 
1612 

3  50 

6  50 

Grftlvestoo 

•    800 

Variable 

Greenville*    Miss 

292 

1  50 

Houston                          .... 

710 

3  40 

\Iacon 

257 

1  60 

"Meridian 

152 

1  15 

Mobile                  

276 

1  50 

Montgomery    

96 

1  10 

Nashville                                                            •  •  •  • 

209 

1  50 

\e\v  Orleans 

417 

Pensaeola    
Savannah                                              

260 

1   To 
1  80 

Selma  

101 

473 

1  20 

2  "•") 

Yicksburg  

294 

1  55 

Remarks  :     Bunker  rate  to  Mobile,  $1.10  ;  to  New  Orleans,  $1.65  ;  to 
Pensacola.   $1.10.    Export  rate  to  Mobile,  $1.10;  to  Pensacola,  1.05. 


INDEX. 


Page. 
Alabama  Iron  and  Steel 

Company Hi,  119 

Alabama  Pipe  Company 124 

Alabama  Rolling  Mill  Co.  ...   119 

Alabama  Steel  Works 120 

Alice  Furnace 10,  111 

Anniston  Bloomary — See 

Cherokee  Iron  Co. 

Anniston  Pipe  Works 123 

Anniston  Rolling  Mills 120 

Attalla  Furnace 114 

B. 
Barton,  A.  E.,  on  grading 

pig  iron 136 

Bay  State  Furnace 107 

Bessemer  Land  and  Improve- 
ment Co 106,122 

Bessemer  Ore 14,  15 

Bessemer  Rolling  Mills 120 

Bibb  County,   bloomaries  in .     10 

Bibb  Furnace 114 

Birkinbine,  John,  ores  ofU. 

16,  24,  27 

Birmingham  Rolling  Mills. .  .  120 
Birmingham  Soil  Pipe  Co. ...  124 

Blackband  Iron  Ore . 13 

Blair,  A.  A.,  Analysis  of  soft 

Red   Ore  31 

Bloomaries 123 

Blue  Billy 55 

Bowron,  James,  on   Pig  Iron 

Market 126 

Bninnon,  W.  H.,   on  Grading 

Pig   Iron 143 

Bridge  Building  Works 123 

Brown  Ore  burdens 94.  104 

calcining  ...  .22,  52-54 
composition .....     48 

definition   of 13 

improvement  of 

21,  22,52,  54 

mining 46 

occurrence  of. ...     45 
phosphorus  in . .  14,  48 


Page. 

Brown  Ore,  price  of 49,  92 

"         proportions  of,   in 

"  bank 47 

"        proportions  used  in 

furnace.  .  .  .  14,  94,  104 
Russell ville belt.  .       7 
"        screening,  results 

from 51 

use  of  in  charcoal 

furnaces 104 

' '        used  for  car-wheel 

iron 9,  14 

used  for  pipe  iron .     14 

"        used  in  the  state  13,  45 

valuation  of  ....     49 

variable  nature  of    14 

"        washing 46 

"water  in 17,48 

Buffalo  Iron  Co 114 

Buchanan,    Franklin,    builds 

Tennessee 9 

Burdens,  furnace 78 

Burdens,  charcoal  furnace.  . .   104 
Burdens,  coke  furnace, 

61,  62,  79,  84,  94 

C. 

Calhoun    County,  bloomaries 

in 10 

Capital   invested  in   iron  ore 

mining 3 

Car  Axle  Works         124 

Car  Building   Works 125 

Car  Wheel  Works 124 

Central  Iron  Works,  See  Shel- 
by Rolling  Mill  Co. 

Charcoal,  furnaces,  list  of 114 

Chattanooga     District,     ores 

used  in  1 

Chattanooga      Foundry     and 

Pipe  Works 123 

Cherokee  Iron  Co 123 

Clara  Furnace 107 

Clifton  furnaces 107 

Clinton  formation,  source  of 
ore 29 


162 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 


Page. 
Coals  of  Ala.,  Ga.  and  Tenn. .       1 

Coal,  for  coking 77 

freight  tariff 158 

kind  used  for  coking. .     78 

production  of 158 

value  of  for  coking.  ...     77 

yield  of  in  coke 77 

Cokes  and  Iron  Ores,  South- 
ern         1 

Coke,  analysis  of 70,  72 

"       analysis  of  ash  of.  . .  72.  73 

*,      cell  space  of 71 

"       character  of  coal  used 

in  making 78 

"      consumption  of,  in  fur- 
naces.  74-76.84,87,94,98 

cost  of 92 

crushing,  strain  of. ...     70 
first  made  in  Alabama.      9 

freight  tariff 158 

furnaces,  list  of 106 

kinds  of 68 

production  of 77,  153 

specific  gravity  of 71 

Colbert  Iron  Co 107 

Concentration  of  ore 

1,  23,  37-39,  42 

Coosa  Furnace .   115 


D. 


DeBardeleben,  H.  F 18 

Decatur  Charcoal  Iron  Fur- 
nace    115 

Decatur  Car  Wheel  and  Man- 
ufacturing Co 124 

Decatur  Land  Co 115 

Davis-Colby  kiln 52 

D'Invilliers,  E.  V.,  on  South- 
ern Coke  and  Ore 1 

fto'lomite,  analysis  of 58 

as  flux,  E.  A.  Ueh- 

ling 64 

use  of,  largely  in- 
creasing   58 

use  of,  due  to  C.  A. 

Meissner 67 

valuation  of 57 

E. 

Edwards  Furnace 106 

Elliott  Car  Co, 124,  125 

Engineering  and  Mining  Jour- 
nal, articles 1 

Ensley  Furnaces 89,  111 

Eureka  Coke  Furnace. .  10 


F. 

Page, 
Fleming,  H.  S.,  Ores  used  in 

Chattanooga  District 1 

Florence  Cotton  &  Iron  Co . .  108 

Flue  Cinder 55 

Forges  and  Bloomaries 123 

Fort  Payne,  furnace  at 106 

Fort  Payne  Rolling  Mill,   see 

Ala.  Steel  works. 
Freight  tariff— on  coal  1896.  .  158 
on  coke  1896..  158 
"  on  pig  iron  1888  136 
"  1893  141 
"  1896  148 
Furnaces,  charcoal,  list  of . . .  114 

coke,  list  of 106 

first  in  Alabama.  . .       7 
progress  of  build- 
ing, charcoal.  ...   118 
progress  of  build- 
ing, coke 113 

G. 

Gadsden   Foundry  and    Ma- 
chine Works 124 

Gadsden  Iron  Co 115 

Gadsden- Alabama  Furnace. .  107 
Gholson  coal  seam,  first  coke 

in  Ala.  made  from 9 

Gordon,  F.  W.,  Large  Furna- 
ces on  Ala.  Materials  89 

Gouge,  definition  of .. .     30 

Grading  Pig  Iron,  agreement* 
by  Southern   Iron   Masters 

in  1888 ....  141 

Grading  Pig  iron,  local  prac- 
tice    130,  132,  136,  143,  148 


H. 


Hard  Red  Ore- 
behavior  of  in  depth 41 

calcination   of .     42 

composition  of 36,  40 

definition  of 29 

effects  of,  on  coke  consump- 
tion      87 

effect  of,  on  limestone  Con- 
sumption   84,  87 

effect  of,  on  quality  of  iron     90 

occurrence  of 39 

price  of 81 

proportions    used    in    fur- 
nace   84,  94 

use  of  crushed 89 

Hattie  Ensley  Furnace 107 


INDEX 


163 


Page. 
Hematite  Ores — 

classification   of 29 

iron  chiefly  made  from.  . 

occurrence  of 29 

phosphorus  in 15 

Hematite  Ores,    see      under 
Hard,  and  Soft  Red. 

Hercules  Foundry 124 

Hillman,  T.  T 10 

Hood  Machine  Oo 124 

Hot  Blast  Stoves 119 

Howard-Harrison  Iron  Co.  . .   123 

I. 
Iron  Ores  and  Coals   of  Ala., 

Ga.andTenn 1 

Iron,  Pig — 

freight  tariff 136,141,  148 

grading,  see  under  Grading. 

production,  charcoal 119 

coke 114 

cost  of  raw  ma- 
terials 84,  94,  104 
Iron  Trade  Review 27 

J. 

Jefferson  Steel  Co 121  ! 

Jenifer  Furnace 115 

Jones,    Catesby     ap.    builds 

Ten:  9 

L. 

Lake  <  >re   23,  26,  27 

Laboratories,  chemical ....  6,  14 

Lady  Ensley   Furnace 108 

Langdon  Furnace 116 

Limestone — 

analysis  of 57 

consumption  of 

~ 84,87,94,98,104 

compared  with  dolomite  as 

flux 64 

cost  of 92 

valuation  of 57 

M. 
McCreath,  A.  S.  on  Southern 

Cokes  and  Ores 1 

Magnetic  Concentration 

1,  22,37-39 

Mary  Pratt  Furnace 108 

Meissner,  C.  A.,  use  of  dolo- 
mite due  to 67 

Monte  vallo,  bloomary  near.  .     10 

Morris,  Geo.  L  10 

Michigan,  iron  ore  production     26 


Page. 

Mill  Cinder  r>5 

M  innesota,  iron  ore  prnduc- 

tion 26 

Minnesota,  value  of  ore  in.  ..     16 

o. 

,  Ohio,  pig  iron  production.  ...     23 

Ore,  Bessemer 14,  15 

( >re,  iron,  analysis  of,  see  un- 
der Brown,  Hard,  and  Soft 
Red. 

Ore,   Mesabe 38 

i  Ore,  Iron — 

production  of  in   Ala...  25,158 

sale  of  on  analysis 19,  49 

semi-hard   40 

used  in    Chattanooga  dis- 
trict         1 

varieties,  see  under  Black- 
.    band,  Brown,  Hard,  and 

Soft  Red. 
value  of  in  Ala.  and  United 

States 16,25,  28 

Oxmoor  Furnace 10,  110 


P. 

Peacock's  Iron   Works..   124,125 

Pechin,E.  C 1 

Pennsylvania,  iron   ore  pro- 
duction      26 

Perry,  Matthew  Calbraith.  . .       9 

Philadelphia  Furnace 108 

Phosphorus  in  Ala.   Ore 15 

Piedmont  Land  &  Improve- 
ment Co • 116 

Pig  Iron — 
change  of  nomenclature  in 

1888 141 

'charcoal,  production  of  119, 158 
coke,  production  of.  ...  114, 158 

cost  of  making   5 

cost  of  raw  material  in  mak- 
ing   84,94,  104 

freight  tariff,  1888 136 

1893 141 

1896 148 

grading.  .    130,  132,  136,  143,  148 
grades  effected   by  burden 

84,  90,94 

market 126 

prices  of  in  1888 -135 

"  "  1893    141 

"         "  "  1896 147 

production — charcoal..  118,  158 

—coke 114,  158 

—total  yearly. .  158 


164 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  ALABAMA. 


Page. 

Pioneer  Furnaces 108 

Pipe  Works 123 

Polksville,  charcoal  furnace 

at 8 

Porter,  Jno.  B.,  Iron  Ores  and 

Coals  of  Ala.,  Ga.  and  Tenn.  1 
Pratt  Coal  Mines,  paper  on 

by  E.  Ramsay 1 

Puddle  Cinder 55 

Purple  Ore 55 


K. 


Pratt 


Ramsay,   Erskine,   on 

Coal    Mines 1 

Residue  from  Acid  Works ...     55 
Robertson,  Kenneth,  on  grad- 
ing pig  iron 132 

Rock  Run  Furnace L16 

Rolling  Mills  in  Alabama. . . .  119 
Round    Mountain,    charcoal 

furnace  at 8 

Round  Mountain  Furnace. . .  116 
Russellville  Brown  Ore  7 

S. 

Schultz,  Captain 10 

Selma,  Confederate  arsenal  at     -9 

Sheffield  Furnaces 109 

Sheffield,  ore  used  at 7 

Shelby,    charcoal    furnace  at 

8,   117 

Shelby  Rolling  Mill  Co 121 

"      Iron&  Steel  Co 109 

Sloss,  J,  W 10 

Smith,  Eugene  A 1,  9,  10 

Soft  Red  Ore- 
composition  of 31,  32 

concentration  of 37,  38 

definition  of 2£ 

exhaustion  of 37 

improvement  of 22,  38 

occurrence  of 30 


Page. 

Soft  Red  Ore- 
price  of 5,  1,928 

physical  nature  of 34 

proportion  of  used  in   fur- 
naces    84, 94 

Soil  Pipe  Co.,  Birmingham.  .  124 

Southern  Bridge  Co 123 

Southern     Cokes     and   Iron 

Ores .'...       1 

Spathite  Furnace 109 

Spathite    ore 23 

Stoves,  Hot  Blast,  'in  Ala 119 

Swank,  Jas.  M 7 

T. 
Talladega  Co.,  bloomary  in.  .    10 

Talladega  Furnace 110 

Tap    Cinder 55 

Tecumseh  Furnace 117 

Tennessee,  iron  clad  ram 9 

Tennessee  Coal,  Iron  &  Ry. 

Co 110,  111,  122 

Texas,  value  of  ore  in 16 

Thomas,  Robt 8 

Trussville  Furnace Jh.1 

U. 

Uehling,  E.  A.,  use   of  dolo- 
mite as  flux 64 

Union  Iron   Works 125 

United  States  Car  Co.  121, 124, 125 

V. 
Valuation  of  Ore 17,  et  seq* 

W. 

Ware,  Horace 8 

Williamson  Furnace 112 

Witherby,  E.  T 8 

Woodstock  Furnaces....   112,117 
Woodward  Iron  Co 112 


YC 


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